New Yet So Old
by Lil Nezumi
Summary: New chapters added -See CH 1 for full summary. Yes it's a back in time re-write of events from the Naruto manga and animé, but not an OMG I'm in the past kind of tale. Probably with hints of slash pairings, so far nada.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **New, Yet So Old

**Main pairing:** Naruto/mm (slash, possibly non-graphic)

_**MY Inspiration:**_ Naruto (all media forms, primarily Manga)

**Disclaimer:** This is my standard disclaimer; I don't own anything in regards to the sources of _**MY**__**Inspiration**_. All publically recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

All the characters, worlds, base concepts or general ideas are just a bit food for the writing bug. This story is pure fiction and is in no way meant to copy or reflect real life, events or people, should this happen then obviously it is pure coincidence.

**Categories:** AR (Alternate Reality, but still within the Naruto Shinobi World), Yaoi, Shonen-ai, Adventure, Romance, Martial Arts

**Main warning:** See author's profile for preferred pairing style.

**Summary:** Yes it's a back in time re-write of events from the Naruto manga and animé, but not an OMG I'm in the past kind of tale. Genin before he's twelve? Maybe! Super powers, um, how about the Nen concept from the HunterXHunter, as a new or foreign jutsu that Naruto learns. This story is not a cross-over. Slash pairings projected for this tale and more of a factual tale than character driven, so you've been warned of my writer's folly.

**Speech Legend: (**Standard speech legend, from here on this will not be repeated**)**

"Normal"  
>'<em>Thoughts<em>'  
>(…internal conversations, <em>Kyuubi<em> / Naruto…)

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**CH 1**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The path to early independence for an orphan of Konoha is limited by the options available to learn. Not many were willing to accept the small blond boy as an apprentice, so his fall back and only option was the way of the Shinobi. It was a harder path than he'd thought at the time, but it was worth it in the end because he'd found precious people to care about and fight for.

They were the ones that allowed him to fight with everything he had every time he left the village. The common villagers, well some still saw him as the demon and not the person that housed the creature. Still during the course of his long life, he accomplished many things and had even been elevated to the rank of Hokage of his village.

So why was he now confronting another impossible enemy, seeking power and instigating wars among the Shinobi Tribes? The enemy didn't care. They wanted more power. They wanted to rule the lands with an iron fist and terror. Calling upon the past Kages of various nations, many abilities were absorbed from their supposedly unrecoverable corpses. The rule had been the one still alive at the end of it all, would be the one to triumph.

Uzumaki Naruto the Nanakagé of Konoha, the seventh Kage after the fall of Jiraiya the Toad Sage who was sixth Hokage after the Godaime failed during one of her medical procedures. She had died from exposure to an unknown disease she'd been dealing with. The eighth or Ha-chikage had been Konohamaru who died during the rise of yet another Shinobi war.

The Nanadaime was pulled from his well-deserved retirement to oversee this new war. His orders came from various parts of the world, as he competed with his enemy in gathering the abilities of his Kagé predecessors. The Shinobi fought the war in the only way they knew how, from the shadows. Many were killed and just as many were saved by these shadows.

The grave of the final Kagé was where the enemy and the Nanadaime had their last confrontation. The last ability was swallowed by Naruto and with it the inactive seal on his stomach burned. The pattern that had been with him all his life, even after that blasted demonic fox had been fully absorbed and was there still there as a reminder of his ostracism, his childhood pain, activated.

Naruto gasped and tore at his shirt. He called on all the elements, opening the path of the Sage and that's when he saw many ethereal paths. Paths he could have taken, paths he didn't take, paths to future loves, paths to lost loves and one single path that would destroy this world's enemy before it would be too late to correct the total destruction that his enemy had been planning.

He smiled, despite the pain that he was feeling at the moment. "Yeah," he said with golden eyes looking into the insane ones of his foe. "I'll take that path and you'll never rise."

He released the fires in the seal and his enemy screamed in defiance to that outcome. "It's too late," Naruto told them. "My precious people are calling for me to come home. You are finished."

The cage surrounded his enemy and then slowly collapsed inward and dwindled to a bare spot before completely evaporating. It left behind a charred spot on the ground and nothing else. The Nanadaime fell like a puppet without strings. There was no one there to bury him and his corpse became food for the beasts.

The old burnt seal was good for one more thing though. All the techniques that this Kage had learned during his lifetime were burned away too. His body was no good to those that seek Ninja techniques from the dead.

No Hunter of any Shinobi tribe could extract his skills.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

In a small single apartment in a not quite nice area of Konoha Village a small blond boy, tossed and turned in his sleep, as though a nightmare had just come upon him. He sat up and gasped for air, his hand rested on the blood seal that had been a part of him for a long as he could remember.

He blinked and his eyes turned gold for a moment and then reverted to his normal sky blue.

He then stood up and walked with stiff movements because his poor limbs had seized during the night. He searched his medicine box for muscle cream and relaxants in order to relieve the terrible pain he was in.

Tears fell from his eyes as the looked out of the window and saw only four faces on the Kage monument of his former village. '_It worked_,' he thought. '_I took the last path and best path for my people_.'

"I never knew why they insisted on putting our heads up there," he said to himself. He mixed a couple of herbs in hot water and drank them down before smearing the cream on his arms first and then his legs.

"Looks like I'm going to have to do some extreme stretching before going back to sleep," he finished his task and chose a towel that was due to be washed to use. He laid it out on the ground and proceeded to stretch his neck, arms and legs using a mixed method of Yoga and Tai-chi. The towel helped keep the cream from becoming imbedded into his floor.

The mixed exercise was something that he discovered as he'd aged and he'd needed it in order to keep limber, if he still wanted to do most of the things he'd been used to doing in his youth. Now it was only a matter of ensuring that his new and that much younger body, plus stiff muscles were sufficiently warmed up to prevent a night of muscle cramps.

He felt several joints pop and then with one final stretch his back cracked in just the right places to render him boneless. "Ah," he sighed in pleasure at sensation. "Perfect, now to go back to sleep."

Naruto climbed back into his bed, rolled into the blankets like a sausage and slept so soundly that he actually missed class for the first time since he'd begun to attend the Ninja Academy at the age of seven. Students were permitted to miss a few classes based on injuries, but this was the first time that he'd missed because he was too tired to go.

He actually slept for twenty-four full hours and didn't realize that he'd missed the Genin exam. It was the first one he'd applied to and unfortunately, he was going to have to wait six months to try again. The students at the Ninja Academy could try to become Genin at the age of ten up until they turned thirteen years old, which was the age of most civilian apprenticeships. The Academy held exams for Genin every six months, depending on the number of students attempting the exam.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

(..._Well, well, well, isn't this an interesting development_...) The old fox demon said looking down at the figure in front of him that kept shifting from boy, to teenager and to an aged grey haired, old man.

(...I don't really understand what happened...) Naruto said to the sneering fox. He shrugged and said (...Oh well, it looks I'll get to live my life again...) He made a few hand signs and the chakra belonging to the fox demon flowed into him. It was slow at first, but that was because the boy needed to make sure that the flow would work like he'd learnt in his past life.

(..._What do you think you're doing?_...) The fox snarled at him. He felt the loss of energy. He felt sluggish. It was almost like he'd been running through the forest for a very long time.

(...I'm doing what needs to be done...) Naruto said. (...The sealing technique was not meant to be used like this for so long. It's best that I fix this now while I still can before something happens like someone trying to forcibly extract you...)

(..._Like anything has that kind of power..._) The fox said.

(...There are places of power in this world. If the right number of people with an ability to concentrate for extended periods of time and have large chakra capacities… It these were to gather, then all confined Biju can be forcibly removed from their human hosts...) Naruto explained. (...Although that's not supposed to happen for a few more years and I do plan to make it very difficult for them...)

(..._How?_...) The foxed asked, but received no reply. That's when he noticed that the boy was no longer there. He lay down and curled his '_eight_' tales around him. (..._Gaki, I'll figure this out and as soon as I know what it is, you're going to be in a world of hurt..._)

Naruto had only rolled over in his sleep, deepening his breath and opening the coils of his chakra system to absorb the demonic chakra that he'd pulled from the fox. It was only one tail, but it was one that the fox didn't remember ever having, as that was the effect of absorption and the concentrated hand signals that the boy had just used.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** See chapter one, from here on this will not be repeated.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**CH 2**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The alarm clock rang out through the small one room apartment, getting louder as it was ignored. A hand emerged from the blanket roll on the small single bed, grabbed the offending item and flung it out of the window with such force that it severed an electrical line four buildings away. The line that fell almost shocked a passing ANBU guard. Luckily it missed them and the clock continued on its way to finally land in an abandoned bird's nest that had been formed on top of the chimney of a seemingly abandoned building, still ringing out its annoying tone.

Naruto rolled over trying to get comfortable, but he'd had that nagging feeling that something was wrong. So he got up and tripped over the towel he'd used the night before last. The smell was powerful, but he only kicked it away and it was then that he looked around to note where he was.

He blinked and said out loud, "What the hell?"

He paused to take in a deep breath and activated his eyes using an ancient forgotten ninja technique called "Gyo" to see the hidden underneath. There was nothing to see. This technique was one that he'd learnt much later in his old life. It had helped him in more ways than could be counted. Unfortunately with nothing to see, as this was his second apartment, he couldn't detect a trace of how he'd gotten there or if this was just an elaborate Genjutsu.

The place was the one that he'd moved to after the Sandaime found out about the rise in rent that he'd been subjected to in his previous building. This building was the property of a Jounin that didn't mind him living there, but refused to fork over the money for repairs that the apartment needed. The boy had been given blanket permission to fix up whatever he wanted, but the Jounin wasn't going to pay for it and that had been written in the boy's lease agreement which was a good thing too, cause he did a lot of things in there.

Naruto noted everything in the room, including the calendar, but somehow he knew that the red, circled day had already passed. He was infinitely aware of time and he knew that he missed his chance at taking his first Genin exam. At least he could still try again in six months.

He dressed quickly, raced to the graduated class and was yelled at for not being there the day before to take the exam with the other prospective Genins seated in the room. They stared at him.

"I'm sorry," he said, clapping his hands together and bowing in pretend terror. He even shook his small frame for good measure. "I was ill and couldn't take the tests. I didn't want to fail for not paying attention and no one would have thanked me, if I'd brought the flu to school."

"Are you better now?" The Sensei asked the small blond boy, not really concerned about his health, but she had to maintain an air of concern, plus this information had to be added to the boy's records anyway.

"Yes, ma'am," Naruto said. "Can I still attend classes?"

"You're going to be treated as though you failed," the woman told him. "You do have the option to go into a six month remedial class, instead of returning to your year mates."

"I'd prefer that," Naruto said. His year mates had never been helpful and had only scorned him. He didn't want to continue with them since he knew that he couldn't face anyone he'd known, not just yet. The six months timeline with a new group would allow him the chance to push for another chance at an early graduation test.

"Very well," the Chunin sensei replied. She handed him a note and told him, "Go to room three eighteen and give this to the Sensei there to get admitted."

"Thank you, sensei," he glanced at the note once he was completely out of the room with the door closed behind him. He snorted when he saw that it said, '_He's your problem now._' Still he ran up to the room, knocked on the door and entered when invited to do so.

The Chunin in this room was Mizuki-Sensei. Naruto's thoughts halted for a moment, but his features showed none of his concerns and only showed his earnestness at being in the class. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto," the young blond said. "I failed the Genin exam, but was told I could join your remedial class, instead of returning to those in my year."

He walked over and handed the note to the white-blond haired man. The traitor in league with Kirigakure looked at the boy as though to gauge his value within the class. Then the man shrugged, not caring about the boy or whether the kid would find it difficult in his class and said, "Go sit there."

Naruto was directed to the second to last row and made to sit next to one of the Hyuga Clan. That clan had people with very distinctive eyes that were either: white, lavender, pale purple or very light blue with no pupils.

'_It's kind of creepy_,' he thought. He did a minor double take when he realized that the person next to him was the pissed off Hyuga Neji, he'd fought a long time ago at his first Chunin exam. '_Well hell_,' he thought. '_This is going to be interesting, I think._'

His seatmate ignored him and that was fine by the blond since he was only there to maintain his presence at the Academy in order to pass the next Genin exam and move up in the ranks of the Shinobi field. He calculated everything that he needed to do in order to build up his physical strength and stamina. '_At least classes are only half days and the afternoon contains options or independent studies in other fields,_' he thought. '_Now what to do…_'

"Everyone, we'll review all the theory behind the standard Jutsus in order to pass the Genin exams," Mizuki-sensei told them. "Naruto, how about you tell us when you'd use the Bushin jutsu."

"Any situation that I need to run from quickly," the blond said. "I'd want a decoy for the enemy to follow, as long as they can be fooled by the copy."

Mizuki hadn't expected that kind of answer, but it was correct. However no one ever praised the demonic container and he wasn't about to begin either. "Very well," the man said. "Sit down. Yukina when would you…"

Naruto tuned out the rest of the questions and answers. These students didn't make notes in class because they were expected to memorize most of what was discussed. It was the Shinobi way of information gathering, as not all information could be written. They were to create their notes at home and use them to study from in order to pass the written tests given.

"Class dismissed for extra studies," Mizuki-sensei said. "Be here at seven in the morning for the physical portion of classes, Naruto. You need to keep up with these students now."

"Yes sensei," the blond said and left as quickly as he could. He had a few errands to run and most of them were just staking out empty buildings in order to be able to scrounge up items that could improve his living conditions just a bit or claim them as a training ground. The most important things he needed now though were good ink, paper and blank scrolls.

He also needed to find that book again. It was a book that he'd found in the Hokage's tower, but it was in a concealed room gathering dust, even by the time he'd become the Hokage of Konoha. The book contained a strange Ninja Technique that he'd been close to mastering a part of it based on what it had been written about it. Most of the techniques in the book were chakra based, but the concepts or ideas in it had been mind-blowing to him at the time.

'_I going need that book now,_' he thought. '_It'll help with the absorption of the chakra and balance out my current knowledge. I might even be able to gain access to Hatsu this time around._'

(…_What are you talking about Gaki?_…) The fox said in his mind. (…_What knowledge could you possibly have? Aren't you known at the Dead-Last of your class…_)

(…My classes have changed, Kurama…) Naruto said, as he watched a familiar ninja wearing glasses leave and a seemingly abandoned building. '_Holy shit, that's Kabuto's hideout! We never found that in the past._'

(…_Gaki!…_) The fox yelled to get the attention of his host. (…_Watch your emotions or else the townspeople will be after you again…_)

(…Yeah, thanks…) Naruto said and the he stepped into a shadow and blinked. (…What the hell? Since when have we be conversing like this and why the hell would you care what the townspeople think?…)

(…_We don't talk all the time…_) The fox told him. (…_It certainly doesn't mean that I care, but you once likened it to some weird Ningen term called Frienemies. We usually only talk when your emotions are too much, even for me to handle because the colour of my chakra becomes slightly visible and you get physically attacked_…)

Naruto thought, '_Frienemies?_' He shook his head and immediately understood the idea or concept of it. They were enemies that acted friendly like, but would never been real friends as they both understood the meaning of the word. (..Got it…) He relied. (…I can see that. So yeah, Frienemies it is then…)

(…_So tell this Yako Fox what's got your panties in a bunch so that I can laugh at you…_) Kurama said. (…i…)

(…Not today…) Naruto said. (…Later though, when we both need a laugh…)

The fox grumbled and then curled up to sleep, snoring in the boy's ear, knowing how to direct the sound to annoy the brat. The blond was surprised at that, but then he'd also learned long ago to redirect inconsequential sounds elsewhere. He could do it by placing a Fujin seal somewhere in order to annoy another person or he could redirect to some other part of his mind to just completely ignore.

Naruto snickered softly and then ran to a second hand shop of books that had always allowed him access to the ones they were shipping to a large store in a bigger town. If he wanted any of them, he was permitted to pay pittance for them, as most were ruined in some fashion or another.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

'_Exercise in chakra control should be learnt at the Academy,_' he thought as he tried to climb a tree while using every technique he could think of to remember the training he'd had in the past during his time as a Genin traveling to the Land of Waves with Team Seven. He was outside of the village in a park that was barely used at this time of day.

'_Coming back in time was a good and bad idea,_' his thoughts continued, as he slipped down the bark of the tree again. '_Everything that I had ever learnt needs to be relearned. Every exercise, everything that my body is used to knowing has to relearn it again before I can even think of accessing even the base Jutsus I need to pass the Genin exam. At least this time, I can plan ahead and I know how to do it._' He gave up on tree climbing for now.

Fifteen minutes later he huffed as he continued his run around the outside perimeter of the village. He'd gotten written permission from his sensei to do the run before coming to class and the gate guards noted his times for him so that he could track his improvement in it. He'd done the calculations and then with judicious use of chakra on his feet, he added a bounce to his running steps.

He noted that the first day that his time was two hours and forty-three minutes. He figured that learning to add chakra to his basic exercises would help to improve his needs and eventually the tree-climbing thing would come to him sooner than it had in the past.

He calculated that he needed to shave it down to an hour and forty-five minutes before he added any weights to build up the missing strength in his lower body. He did morning, afternoon and evening stretches with and without weights to improve the rotation of his limbs. He found that it did help, but he was looking forward to extracting that book from the Hokage's tower.

First though, get the strength and flexibility to climb the tower and bypass the traps he knew about. Then practice chakra control until he could walk on anything. Finally an intensive study of traps, regular hunting ones as well as all potential ninja ones from concealed seals, sutras or trip wires before even making a first attempt at getting into that old storage room.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto was sitting in an optional watercolour class that was offered for only two months, this had been after he'd taken a three months drawing class for fun.

He'd always wanted to learn how to paint, using the techniques that Yuuhi Kurenai was teaching it. The class wasn't a frequent one, but it did help him to calm his mind and his body to the point of meditating while painting. This was perhaps the only class that he ever received praise in and that was because of his instinctive use of the colours.

Kurenai-sensei had asked him if he'd be interested in a calligraphy class too, but the boy's answer surprised her. "Nah," he'd said. "I don't need that one. Why do you ask?"

"I just thought that perhaps some poems in calligraphy or brushed kanji would improve your paintings so that people would be interested in purchasing them," she'd said.

He snorted and replied, "They'd never buy them if they knew that I was the one that made them."

"I see," she noted his expression and wondered just how much he knew about the circumstances surrounding his birth.

"I can make one just for you though," Naruto said. "It'll be a present to you for the last day of this class…" He paused, looked down, shuffled his feet and asked. "That'd be okay, wouldn't it?"

"That'd be perfectly fine," she answered. "I'm going to look forward to it. The last class is at the end of this month."

"You got it," he answered brightly. When he left class after they were dismissed, he ran to the used bookstore to find a book on poems or maybe even one on how to write poems, just in case.

There were a couple of books with good poems and there was one explaining different types of poetry. He thought about it and then thought about the painting he wanted to make for the sensei.

'_Haiku_,' he'd read. '_A poem of five syllables in one line, seven syllables in the second line and five in the last. No comparisons allowed and usually reflects moods._'

He nodded at the book and paid cheaply for two that contained poetry and the one that contained the how-to, to write poems. '_This should help with keeping my writing neat_,' he thought, as he remembered how his hands needed to be re-trained to write beautifully. '_I'm going to need to make more paper to practice on._'

That had been one of the old abilities from one of the Kages that he'd absorbed from his past life, during the final war he'd had to participate in. Papermaking was important for those with a knack for using the Fuuinjitsu techniques. Those that made their own paper could even infuse them with their chakra and level up the Fuda, Sutras, Sigals or Seals marked on them. The change in the activation level changed what could have been a small bang into a loud destructive explosion, again based on ability and chakra levels.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Kurenai-sensei dismissed this class for the last time. The last student out of the classroom had left behind a wrapped parcel on her desk. "As promised," Naruto told her. "I'll be going now."

"Wait," she said. "I'll open it and let you know what I think." The blond looked at the door as though he wanted to escape. He took a deep breath and then returned to sit at the desk in front of his professor. He waited for her to open up the package.

She gasped and said, "This is beautiful. Where did you get this kind of paper?"

"It was around," Naruto said and he kind of shifted in seat, not wanting to let her that he'd made it.

"Borrowed?"

"No way," he replied and was about to run away.

"All right then, I won't ask you how you acquired it," she said, which calmed him down somewhat. "You pass with high praise and with this." She'd pre-prepared a note that had already been added to his Ninja file. What she handed him was a copy of it.

'_It's in the opinion of this sensei that Uzumaki Naruto has the ability to create art in a manner that is natural. His concentration on subject matter would improve, if permitted to pursue training in this field. Strong recommendation of outside placement and training for this secondary skill set, which could be of use for undercover work._'

"Wow," he said out loud. He'd never taken a course like this the first time around and had never seen this kind of recommendation ever in his own files. He'd seen it for a few others, but never in his. "Thanks," he said.

"You're welcome," she told him. "Now you'd best get home, it looks like rain is coming tonight." She looked back at the watercolour painting. It was done in greens and yellows, only showing hints of leaf formations with the veins of darker colour. Along one side of it, were the following lines written in beautiful kanji script:

"_Leaves shining up there,_

_Tasting the sun and the rain,_

_Grow to the sky, high_."

'_No wonder he didn't want to attend a calligraphy class_,' she thought. The interesting thing about the painting is that she could picture the leaves actually growing and moving in a soft, trying to reach that patch of blue colour in the background.

"Thank you for everything Sensei," he said again. "If you want to see something interesting place a tiny bit of your personal chakra on the side of the painting at the mark you see."

Then he'd run away quickly to go rescue his laundry that had been drying on the roof of his building. He'd claimed the roof for a few purposes and had checked with the landlord about it too. Since no one ever went up there he was permitted to do what he wanted, as long as it didn't interfere with the tenets cable or any other wiring to the building.

She did as the boy had told her and was astounded when she heard the wind blowing through the leaves of the watercolour trees. The movement she'd sworn she'd seen was more visible now that the painting had received a boost of energy. The addition of the chakra ensured that the hidden Fujin seal would activate the painting's unique ability every time she walked by it.

"Amazing that kid," she said to no one. She packaged the painting and took it home. There was no signature on the front of it either, but that was something of a habit with the boy from what she'd noted about his other paintings. He did add his mark on the back of them, so she turned it around and noted his preferred mark was there, along with a small foxtail to end it.

"Does he know?" She wondered and then put that thought away quickly. '_It won't matter if he does or doesn't, the kid will have a harder time in this village because of what he holds inside him._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto had been lucky so far, to not run into anyone of his old or past classmates during his self-improved training. He'd made his new choices when he found himself back in the past in his ten year-old body. The classes he was in didn't include his '_old_' gang because he'd chosen to find a way to gain the status of Genin before his second or third terrible failure.

'_I wonder if Mizuki-sensei will find a way to approach me to get that scroll from the Hokage's office or not this time around_,' he thought, after finishing another boring class. He looked around to see if there were any students in there that he could spar with, but instead left to go do some more self training outside of the village. '_It's the week-end, so...yeah...survival training it is!_'

He returned to his apartment and packed up things that he considered essential inside three waterproof scrolls. He added a generic map in order to practice his mapping skills. There were specific paths and sections outside of Konoha that could be used for independent training and any Academy student could leave for a few days, if they had permission from their parents or guardians.

Naruto was an orphan, so his options were different. He could leave the Village as long as he stated the general area that he was going to and then he'd be handed a map of areas to avoid. These areas were usually booked for training by other people or sometimes the Chunin would point out the areas that he'd be permitted to visit and he could state the path that he'd take to go to all of them. That is if he wanted to go to all of them.

"This area," he pointed. It was a forested area with large trees, several streams, but was located on a plateau area on the mountain range behind the Kage Monument of the village.

The Chunin guards made notes and then asked, "How long will you be gone?"

"I expect to be back late morning or early afternoon of Sunday," Naruto told them. They added the timeframe, had him sign for confirmation of his plans and then waved him through the doors.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto ran to the location of his choice. At the rock face he prepared several kunai knives, tying them with rock climbing rope. He used them like the mountain climbers used anchor pitons. He used his familiar ninja knives and infused them with chakra to make them do the work like pitons do for regular climbers.

In the past he'd done this several times and he'd found that it helped him to use the common ninja tools and chakra, as it increased his skills in using those. Not only that, but finding different ways to use the tools improved his understanding of their limits and their strengths.

It wasn't every day that an enemy was confronted or taken down because the kunai that hit them had a rope attached with a chakra summon that force dragged them through the underbrush. If done correctly, the kunai could even have a Fujin Seal on it in order to prevent the enemy from performing any type of Henge that would allow him to escape from that situation.

Naruto giggled during his climb as he recalled a time when he'd dragged an enemy through a very rural field filled with cow dung. The enemy had even slammed up against roots and boulders that had been imbedded in the fields and were impossible for the average farmer to remove.

He reached the plateau and was pleased to note that he had everything he needed there in order to practice his Jutsus. He had notes on several forms of martial arts that he'd made over the time at night when it was quiet and he was supposed to making class notes to study from. It had taken him about three months to write down the styles that he'd used and the exercises needed to ensure smooth executions of those techniques.

All that writing had also improved his writing skills to form better characters. He'd practiced that with both hands because you never knew when one hand or arm would be out of commission for long periods of time.

This survival training for the next three days and two nights were to build up his strength and chakra control. He even planned to absorb another tail from the demon beast within him. That would have to wait until he was physically exhausted because this time the tail he was aiming for was the one that would help him incorporate his past physical knowledge into his present tiny form. Hopefully it would help him to transition faster into the fighter he used to be.

The fox was not going to be pleased.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(…i…) Information on Yako foxes obtained from Wikipedia, a fun place for ideas.


	3. Chapter 3

**CH 3**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Mizuki-sensei was confused about the young blond Jinchuriki. The boy had shown a noted improvement over his previous years in attendance at the Ninja Academy. He handed his request to take the Genin exam along with the others in his current class of mixed eleven and mostly twelve year olds, at the six-month mark.

The Chunin couldn't deny the boy his second chance. The tests were similar to the one the boy had missed, so there was nothing to stop Naruto from taking it now. Classes were loosely taught, as the students needed to experience self-instruction after so many years. How far they went after being approved for Genin levels was mainly based on what their Jounin sensei taught them and how they meshed together as a cohesive working ninja cell.

'_At least the kid is only one or two years younger than the rest,_' Mizuki-sensei thought. '_It would have been harder for the boy, if he'd passed with those students who were two or three years older than he was._'

All the current students had just passed the written portion of their Genin test and now all that remained was to test how well they'd learned their Jutsus. The written test contained questions mainly on the based on the Jutsus that they were about to be physically tested on.

The base three were '_Bushin no Jutsu_', '_Kawarimi no Jutsu_' and '_Henge no Jutsu_'. The general Bushin type is just a plain clone technique. It creates a clone that is good for attacking or confusing the enemy, but has no substance and will dissipate when hit. Kawarimi is the body replacement technique, which creates an optical illusion when the original ninja, is replaced by a block of wood or some other object. Last is the Henge technique to change oneself into something else that is not a clone, but fully a copy of the person, animal or object.

Since the line of students called forth was in alphabetical order, Naruto had time to think about how to perform this part of the exam and hopefully pass. He watched as most of the students, Henged into their sensei, which to him wouldn't have been so bad if his teacher had been Iruka-sensei. However since it was Mizuki-sensei he just wanted to vomit at the thought. He looked around the room to get an idea what to Henge into.

They only needed to pass at one of the three techniques, but because of his age he was told that he'd need to pass all three of them to graduate. It was also to punish him for the fact that he'd not shown up to take the previous exam.

'_I bet it's also because he wants free reign to attack me using the Kawarimi technique_,' he thought. He got ready as his sensei pulled out one kunai, but the young blond knew that the palm could hide more weapons, like a shuriken or two, senbon needles or any combination of thrown weapons.

"Ready," Mizuki-sensei asked and lifted the kunai in an exaggerated form of readiness.

Naruto nodded. The knife was tossed, but two seconds behind that came three shuriken and five senbon needles. The blond watch their approach, he needed to hold his form and then release. He'd replaced his body with a random desk in the room, but more than that, he'd stood the desk up on its shortest end, almost to form a shield. He then Kawarimi'd back to his testing position and put the desk back in its proper place with the thrown weapons still sticking out of it.

The other students were shocked at the number of weapons and then they looked at their teacher, who only shrugged and said. "Next, do three Bushin."

Naruto created three clones that looked exactly like him. His teacher walked around each and nodded that they were fine. "Final jutsu," he told the blond. "Do not Henge into me."

"Okay," Naruto said. "Do you want me to hide too?"

"Actually, that's not a bad idea," Mizuki-sensei said. "Let's see how creative you are, if I or any of the students here can't find you under five minutes, you'll graduate."

Naruto nodded and formed the hand seals to poof away. There was only one option to become in this case. The Hyuga of the class would have been able to detect him, if he'd chosen something somewhere else in the room. Therefore he switched with the hair tie on Hyuga Neji and hid the original tie in the boy's desk.

Mizuki-sensei waited two minutes before nodding at the Hyuga.

Neji activated his Byakugen ability. The boy took his time and looked around the entire class. He could not discover where or what the blond had changed into. None of the students knew how to detect chakra signatures and the Chunin sensei was apparently not one of the ones skilled in detecting it either.

"He's not here," Neji said with wide-eyed surprise. "I can't find him."

"Anyone else," Mizuki-sensei asked and thought, '_That was the longest five minutes ever_.' The negative response prompted him to say, "All right come out Naruto."

Naruto popped back up at the front of the class at the same time returning Neji's hair tie back in place so that the Hyuga could not detect the change. The blond asked, "So, I pass?"

"You pass," Mizuki-sensei said and handed him the headband of a Genin Ranked Ninja of Konoha Village. "Congratulations graduates. Notice of your pass will be submitted for review for cell placement. Come in tomorrow at your regular times to find out who will be part of your four man cell."

Most of the students were leaving, but a few remained behind to hear the answer to their sensei's question. "Naruto," the man said calling forth the new Genin. "What did you Henge into?"

Naruto grinned and said, "Neji's hair tie."

"What," Neji said loudly.

"I switched out with your original hair tie and put that in your desk. Then I changed into your hair tie, so you couldn't detect my chakra with your Byakugan technique," Naruto said again with a grin. "I had to or else you'd have found me easily. Since your hair tie is behind you, you wouldn't think to look there, even if you turned around to look at the back of the class."

Neji frowned and said, "Now that I know..."

"Yeah," Naruto nodded. "Now that you know you'll have to figure out a way detect that kind of thing."

Neji huffed and left the room. The other students had snickered at the answer because honestly that was the most logical place to hide a Henge from someone that could detect it, like many of the Hyuga in the village.

"To bad there weren't two Hyugas in this class," one student said to their friend. "The second one would have probably found Naruto."

"True," the friend replied. "So, how do you think you'd hide from two people who could read chakra signatures like that?"

"I don't know," the voices faded as they left the building.

Mizuki-sensei made his notes on who passed and why. He may be a traitor spy from Kirigakure, but he was also currently masquerading as a Chunin level teacher in Konoha. The blond had passed honestly and had used his mind to do it. The notes he made were about placement recommendations for specific types of cells that the Genins would likely do well on.

Naruto however was a wild card. The teacher strongly suspected that the boy would do well on any team because the boy was so open to trying to fit in. '_A generalized cell,_' he thought and made the notation. '_Also he'd do well with an undercover or other specialization._'

He didn't have to specify what '_specialization_' meant. The placement board and Hokage would know it meant one of several options, like, infiltration, spy or even assassin.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The next day the team placements were handed out. Naruto found himself on Team Eleven with two older girls. It was an odd combination. He'd observed and knew from his past that most Genin cells would only have one girl on it because there was a distinctive lack of female interest in the Shinobi arts.

Their Jounin-sensei was actually a Hyuga, too. The irony was not lost on the three students. Hyuga Tokuma (...i...) was surprised to find out that he had the container of the demon fox on his team. The reason had been explained to him by the council, "Your Byakugan technique is to be used as an early alert," the council had said. "If Kyuubi no Yoko, emerges or influences the boy in any way, you'll be able to see it well in advance and take action."

"I understand," Tokuma said.

"Do you have any objection to having Naruto on your team," the Hokage asked.

The Hyuga Jounin blinked, shook his head and said, "No objections. I understand that I will be required to keep an eye on him for the duration that they are a Genin cell, but that is only providing they pass the unknown secondary Genin test."

Tokuma walked to the class where his three Genin were waiting for him. There seemed to be plenty of laughter as girlish giggling had him wincing because he now realized that the majority of his Genin were girls. '_Ugh,_' he thought. '_I'm going to have to change their focus from boys to being Ninja. This is not going to be fun_.'

He needn't have worried because in the room the two girls were, Haruno Akiko, twelve, a third cousin to Haruno Sakura from the first year class that Naruto refused to attend after missing his first Genin exam. The second girl was Inuzuka Risa, eleven, a fourth child of a cousin of the Inuzuka clan's leader. The Inuzuka girl didn't have a dog with her, but she told her new teammates that it was because none were compatible with her yet.

"It happens," Risa said with a shrug. "Not all Inuzuka's need a nin-dog. My parents suspect that I might find one later to bond with."

Akiko looked at the blond boy and asked, "So how come I hear people calling you 'Dead-Last' and 'Dobe' in the training yards?"

"Well," Naruto said rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't do well in school work and my Jutsu results were silly when I started doing them. Even the one I invented made them laugh, but it needs some work and all of the girls just didn't like it."

"Why not," Akiko asked with growing suspicion.

"I call it my Sexy Jutsu," Naruto mumbled.

"Show us," Risa said.

"I don't wanna offend you," the blond ten-year old boy said, having learnt that girls hit what they don't like. Although he suspected that it had been because they were silently encouraged by some of the teachers and parents around them to act out against him.

"Let's see it," Akiko said.

"All right, you asked for it," the boy sighed and poof. In front of the two girls was a semi-adult buxom teen looking girl with long pig-tails, pouty lips and long lashes. "What do you think," the girl said hiding a twitter behind her hand.

His two teammates were notably shocked and then gained a calculating expression. "Interesting," Akiko said. "Needs some work you say?"

"Well yeah," he said popping back into his regular, ten year old body. "I'm not a girl so I don't know a lot of things. I know from magazines and such what kind things would make guys act stupid based on the looks they have on their faces when the see the magazines, but that doesn't mean I can fool anyone."

"You'd need to cover your whisker marks," Risa said. "Not with make-up, but with another condition added to your Jutsu."

"I'm curious," Akiko said. "If we were to do the Sexy Jutsu would we be girls or boys."

"Boys," Naruto answered immediately.

"WHAT," the two girls shrieked. "WHY?"

"It's a gender switch with a mix of all three base Academy Jutsus," Naruto said. "I can't quite explain how it works, I just know that when I thought about the Jutsus that we're taught, that we could combine them to work that way."

"What made you think of it," Risa asked.

"I wanted the option to hide in plain sight," Naruto said. "I was thinking of being a Shinobi in a foreign country and suddenly needing to hide. I thought that if the enemy knew to look for a male operative then I'd switch to look different, but it's still a matter of getting the clothing to change and convincing them that I'm really an innocent girl."

Akiko thought about that and then thought about being stuck somewhere dangerous where the enemy was looking for a girl. She shuddered and said, "I wouldn't want to be caught as a girl."

"Neither would I," Risa replied.

"I wouldn't want to be caught as either at this age," Naruto said. "Perverts exist everywhere you know."

"No wonder Sakura screams about this Jutsu of yours," Akiko started to laugh.

Risa caught on, giggled and finished saying, "The girls think you're only a pervert."

Naruto groaned dramatically and hid his head in the crook of his arms. He was turning red from embarrassment. '_It was my first invented Jutsu,_' he thought. '_It's still embarrassing to have them point out that the girls in my original life only thought of me as a pervert and not how that Jutsu could be used in an emergency situation._' He glanced at his new teammates and thought, '_I wonder if they'd be willing help me to improve it?_'

Their Jounin sensei made his appearance at the tail end of the conversation and noted that the girls were laughing at the embarrassed expression of the orange jumpsuit wearing youngest member of their team.

"Hello Team Eleven," he said. "I'm your Jounin teacher and you can call me Tokuma-sensei. There are too many with the last name Hyuga running around this village. Follow me to the training grounds that I booked for our group."

He left the room and the three new Genin followed him. At training ground twenty-three they gathered around him and introduced themselves when their sensei asked, "All right. How about you give your names and tell me a bit about your likes, dislikes and dreams for the future?"

"I'm Haruno Akiko and am twelve years old," the dark red haired girl said. "I like hotpot, flower arranging and new clothes. I dislike Sakura because she's too book smart and doesn't take the Kunoichi lessons seriously any more. In the future I want to be able to make specialty clothing for the ninja of this village."

"That's an awesome idea," Naruto said with a genuine smile.

Risa looked at her with excitement, "I agree. My name is Inuzuka Risa and I'm eleven going on twelve in two months. I don't have a nin-dog partner yet, but I think that's because I haven't chosen a direction for my future. They don't like it if you're undecided. I like dogs, cats and some birds. I don't like frogs or snakes because they're slimy. I like the martial arts and any ninjutsu that could be added to make the strike stronger. I hope that one day I could open a dojo or an exercise studio, something of that nature for girls only. That way they'd be able to come there and practice freely without having boys around."

"That's an awesome idea too," Naruto told her. "I can totally see that. Girls need a separate place to not be stared at and to not stare at the boys, if they're actually serious about becoming Ninjas."

"What about you," Tokuma said to Naruto.

"What about me?" The blond looked at them confused.

"Likes," Risa said.

"Dislikes," Akiko said.

Tokuma finished with, "Dreams of the future."

"Oops," Naruto said and rubbed the back of his neck. "Um...My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I'm ten. I like ramen because it's the one food that doesn't spoil fast. I like thinking up new Jutsu, even though they don't work too well." The girls giggled at this recalling their brief conversation. "I don't like the meat available at the market because it spoils too fast and I don't really like the colour orange." He fingered his jumpsuit thoughtfully. He brightened up suddenly and seriously told his new team. "One day in the future, I'm going to be the Hokage of this Village."

Tokuma blinked. This had been said with such certainty and for some reason even the girls believed that it could happen. "I see," the Jounin said. "Well tomorrow this is where we shall meet in the morning. Be here for six am and don't be late."

"Yes sensei," the three Genin told him. They dispersed to their separate homes, except for Naruto.

Tonight was the night he needed to search the Hokage's locked storeroom because he'd be too busy with the various D-Rank missions and his new team to go there later.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

In the night, hidden behind the full '_dark_' moon, no shadow could form. Only those with the ability to see in the dark could move with certainty. The ANBU guards patrolled a little more frequently, on nights like this one to ensure that the village remained at peace.

A single kunai, chinked in the mortar between two bricks on the Hokage tower. The noise wasn't repeated often and it sounded in conjunction to the normal sounds that the patrolling ninjas were used to hearing in the night. Therefore it was completely ignored.

A Fujin Sigil for silence was inscribed on the souls of the shoes and the gloves of the intruder. This person was small, dressed in a very dark matte grey skin-tight bodysuit with a hood that hid his hair. This person only wore a belt with a single pouch located at his lower back. The lenses of his multi-lens goggles revealed all the traps, as they were all chakra based and easily seen.

What was seen was bypassed quickly, silently and no attention was turned to the slim tower opening, which wasn't ideal for crawling into, unless you were of a stature and height small enough to slip in. '_It's a good thing that I'm doing this now before I gain some weight and height,_' Naruto thought as he stepped over a trip wire trap. '_There's no way that I'd have had the patience to wait until I'm named Hokage to get that book._'

He looked around the room from the ledge and it was pretty much in the same condition as when he'd been named the Nanadaime of Konoha. He flicked through the series of lens on his goggles ensuring that there were no other types of traps to be seen. He expanded his senses and then made his way into the book stacks by clinging to the shelves, knowing that there were pressure traps in the floor in the regular aisles, but not on the sections of the floor holding the shelving full of books, records and several old weapons.

He came for one book, but found two more and one scroll of interesting information. He knew that he could take more than that with him, but it wasn't needed. Fifteen minutes of sifting through the old boxes and he finally found the actual book he'd been seeking. He added that to his storage scroll which contained the other items and soon it tucked it away in the pouch at his back.

Ten minutes of retracing his steps and ensuring that there was no trace of his actions in the room. He hopped onto the ledge only after the patrolling ANBU guard had finished his pass. He faced the room, pulled out a small canister of spray and sprayed dust into the room. The dust was similar to what he'd waded through, but in this case it was the kind that erased his chakra, heat signature, foot and finger prints, should any have been left behind by accident.

Another fifteen minutes later, he'd arrived at his apartment. '_No point in rushing,_' he thought. '_That had been a lesson well learned._'

(..._I'm curious about that..._) The fox said to him. (..._What happened that made you learn that particular lesson..._)

(...It was a foolish thing with Jiraiya-sensei...) Naruto said, as he stripped his dark gear and hid it under his bed. He took out the storage scroll and extracted the books and information scroll on the subject of '_Nen Jutsu_'. (...The idiot had me use my Sexy Jutsu to go into a brothel to pick up the information that his contact had left for him. When I left the place, I left a little too quickly and three men who thought I had been there working because of the pace I was using thought I was an easy target for blackmail. I was young then...)

(..._Aren't you still too young to go into a brothel?_...) The fox asked.

(...Well yeah...) Naruto said. (...I'm talking about my past life...)

The fox blinked at that, but didn't ask any more questions. He knew about reincarnation and figured that's just what the kid was talking about. He'd met a few humans that could access their old memories of past lives, of course some of them were fake, but he didn't think that Naruto was one of those.

'_Must be because I'm confined in his body,_' the fox thought. '_I wonder if I can access those memories?_'

Naruto grinned, knowing what the fox was thinking and also knowing that the creature couldn't access those memories. His past was a future that had never taken place and now that the direction of his life had changed somewhat.

He was now on Team Eleven with two older girls. Both of whom, seemed like they'd be pretty decent to him, but it would depend on tomorrow's first official meeting and whether they could work as a team or not.

"I wonder what kind of test Tokuma-sensei is going to make us do. I doubt that it'd be the bell test," he speculated out loud. He put on his sleepwear and said, "I just hope that these girls are willing to work with me." He yawned, put on his animal sleep cap and went to bed.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The next day all three Genin were yawning. They had all arrived fifteen minutes before six o'clock in the morning. Akiko stifled another yawn and asked, "Why so early?"

"I don't know," Risa said with a yawn in reply.

"Maybe to gauge our readiness," Naruto voiced his idea, please that he could do so and no one immediately told him to shut up or even ignored his suggestion.

"We're not ready," Akiko said and Risa nodded.

"I agree," Tokuma-sensei told them, popping up nearby and surprised them. "Well now that you're here you have three hours to try and capture me by any means necessary. This is the second phase of your Genin qualification exam. Begin now!" He disappeared in a puff of Jutsu smoke.

"Damn," Naruto said. "We should have trapped the clearing."

"Now what do we do," Akiko said.

Risa sniffed the air and said, "I think I know where he's gone."

"We need to hide ourselves now," Naruto told them. "He's probably watching us and laying traps for us."

The girls nodded and Risa indicated the direction of their sensei. The three took off in a false direction and they all heard the sigh of despair. They hid in the dense bushes nearby and talked strategy. "We need to prove to him that we're good at what we know," Naruto said. "Did either of you come prepared?"

"I have a camo-cloth," Akiko said. "It's one of my inventions."

"I have sneezing powder," Risa said. "It's made from flower dust and pepper."

"Cool," Naruto said. "I have trip wire, kunai and other few other things, like a roll of silk cloth."

"Perfect," Risa said. "Give me the silk cloth and I'll use it with powder. You take your camo-cloth Akiko, since you're familiar with it and create a trap. Naruto, you get him out of that tree and keep him busy. Jump back when we tell you."

"I can do that," Naruto said. He closed his eyes and hissed, "Disperse, now."

The girls escaped while he charged at his sensei. He used nearly every trick he had to attack the man and guide him in the direction that he'd been told to. He waited to hear the word from the girls.

"Now," he heard from one of the girls. He jumped back after his last attack and dodged the unrolling silk that spread the powder along its path. He used kunai with nin-wire attached in order to herd their sensei into an area that held the camo-cloth on the ground.

Their sensei fell into a pit trap that was covered by the strange cloth. Unfortunately they forgot that he was a Hyuga who had activated his Byakugan. The man avoided the trap with a switching Jutsu, but ended up with a face full of the powder and began to sneeze uncontrollably for a few minutes before he tapped the chakra points to close his sense of smell.

Risa popped out from where she'd been hiding as soon as he'd done that to attack him. He switched away, but he couldn't hide from the Inuzuka. She guided her teammates to his location every time and there were a few times that Naruto found him before she did, which meant he guided his teammates to the man's location.

The cooperation between all three in dogging their sensei surprised him and he made an immediate decision to pass them, only if they kept it up for the next hour and a half. The two girls used everything that was taught at the Academy and a few Taijutsu techniques that weren't because they used nin-wire as jump ropes to confuse him.

The boy surprised them all by dropping two ankle weights and two wrist weights, to attack from the treetops with increased speed. He had the habit of dropping down to catch the man off guard. Eventually all three were attacking using their coordination and combinations that looked like they were thinking of them as they did them.

"Time," Tokuma-sensei said. His three students collapsed, huffing and puffing because they had exerted themselves in trying to capture the Jounin. He grinned at them and said, "You've all passed."

"What do you mean," Akiko asked. "We failed to capture you."

"You worked as a team the entire time," the man said releasing the pressure points the he'd sealed for his sense of smell and sneezed a couple of times. He then said, "You need to think of a better way to release that powder."

"This test was one to see if you could work together, get coordinated and adjust when things went wrong," Tokuma-sensei said. "Also none of you gave up, even when the time was dwindling."

"Wow," Naruto said.

Akiko retrieved her camo-cloth. The sensei asked to see it by holding out his hand for the item. "This is unique," he said. "However because of the Byakugan I was able to see it clear as day."

"Is this the only one you have," Naruto asked. "Do you have a smaller piece of that same material?"

"Sure," she said and handed him a small handkerchief size piece and then watched in horror, as he was about to put ink it. "What are you doing?"

"Just a minute," he said. "Tokuma-sensei, can you see the chakra in it?"

The Hyuga activated his bloodline limit and said, "Yes."

"Keep watching please," Naruto said. He dipped a brush in dark ink and painted a couple of sigils into the four corners of the cloth.

Tokuma blinked and looked closer. The chakra that emanated from the cloth disappeared. It now looked like a cloth that could disappear into the ground. He startled by the change. "I can't see it," he said. He took it and tossed it onto the ground over a lost shuriken, where it immediately blended with the dirt and stones, hiding the throwing star. It disappeared from everyone's eyes and he re-confirmed. "I still can't see it or what it's hiding."

Naruto picked up and showed the sigils. "You'll need to stitch these into the four corners of your larger cloth to get the chakra hidden from anyone of the Hyuga Clan. I don't know if it'll work for someone that has the Sharingan ability and it's not one that we can test right now."

"We can," Tokuma-sensei told them. "I'll set it up for some other day. Now lets talk about strengths, weaknesses and training. Then we'll talk about missions for the three of you."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(...i...) http:/ naruto dot wikia dot com/ wiki/ (you know what to do, remove spaces and replace dots)


	4. Chapter 4

**CH 4**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

A Genin team is formed and created in the hopes of teaching the new Ninja Academy graduates how to work as a team. Tokuma-sensei shook his head and nearly despaired as Naruto looked to have assimilated a somewhat female mindset.

He watched them giggle and generally enjoy their D-Class missions, which to him was kind of strange too. No real ninja enjoyed D-Class missions because they mainly felt like demotions to the higher classed ninja.

It was the boy that explained to the girls that higher missions had higher failure rates. Any mission completed at any level or class was a success and that D-Class missions should be deemed holidays or a reaffirmation for those with a higher ninja rank.

"Why," Risa asked.

"Think about it," Naruto said and then kept silent. This was one thing that Team Eleven had learnt from him. Anytime he said those words, he truly expected them to '_think about it_'. He refused to explain anything until they came up with a few reasons of their own and sometimes it was along the same as his thoughts.

Akiko was usually the one to figure it out first, but from time to time their Jounin-sensei would pipe in with a speculated answer. Tokuma-sensei was surprised quite a few times when the answer should have something he'd already known.

"Not all missions successes," Akiko said. "Ninjas take their life into their hands when they accept a mission and sometimes it's the kind that's '_do or die_'."

"Those with the skills to take such missions, even if they succeed well, some part of it might have left them feeling unsatisfied," Risa said. "Like an enemy escaping or a prisoner dying or the loss of a teammate or a friend getting hurt."

"D-Class missions in the village will could help the higher level Ninjas to remember what they're fighting for too," Naruto said, as nodded and confirmed that those were his thoughts. "It's a fact that those with the more risky missions are more prone to mental instability in the long run, if they don't take breaks."

"How on Earth did you ever think of that," Tokuma-sensei asked.

"Some book I read said, that over-worked and over-stressed people can become mentally unstable or have break-downs, if they don't find something to distract them from whatever is causing the stress in the first place," Naruto told them. "I just re-interpreted that for Ninjas, since our jobs as our ranks rise, will become that much more stressful and harder to accomplish."

"What kind of book," Tokuma-sensei asked curious about what the boy had taken to reading.

"Some kind of psychology of the mind thing," Naruto said. "I was looking for something else and found one called everyday stresses and how to relieve or ignore them."

Their sensei shook his head and then said, "We've been doing non-stop missions for the past two months. The next four weeks we will be training and improving your common Ninja skills, followed by another three weeks of intensive training in specialized skills. So don't expect mission pay for the next six weeks, you'll only receive the base Genin pay."

All three Genin groaned dramatically, but then broke down into laughter because their groans had been synchronized. "Ne sensei," Naruto said. "What specialized skills?"

"Well you've already got them," Tokuma-sensei told his team. "Risa is into bombs, Akiko into cloth manipulation and you are our close combat fighter."

"During the four weeks," Tokuma-sensei began. "The training will be composed of mainly physical training with focus on adding Jutsus or learning another form of Taijutsu to combine with what you already know. We'll also work on strategy combinations for differing situations. We'll brainstorm together and help the girls improve or work on their specializations. Fresh ideas are what are needed for some of the more advanced missions, if we want to begin accepting them."

"C-Class missions," Naruto gasped and quivered in excitement. "Oh, yes please."

"Why so excited about that," Akiko asked.

"Some C-Class missions are done outside of the village and involve travel," Naruto said, as his eyes showed them how much he wanted to visit some place new. "I've never been anywhere other than the outside training grounds and parks areas around Konoha. I haven't traveled further than perhaps 50 hundred kilometres away in some radius to the village."

"Really," Risa asked. "That's odd, why not?"

"I'm an orphan," Naruto said to her. "Who would I go visit and who would take me along just to go visit someplace new?"

"Oh," Risa replied. "Sensei do you think that Naruto could teach us some of his stretching techniques during those four weeks. He's still more flexible than either of us and we want to know why."

"I can't force him to teach you his '_secret_' techniques," Tomuka-sensei said with laughter in his voice. "I'll admit to being curious about it. What do you say Naruto?"

"Hm," the blond thought and then said. "What'll I get for teaching it?"

"Students," Akiko told him with a smile.

"Bah," Naruto replied with laughter. "Who wants such troublesome students?"

"Well what would you want then," Akiko asked with a grin and a laugh.

"Some of your specialized camo-cloth," Naruto said. "Without the Fujin stitching that I showed you."

"How much of it," she asked.

"Enough to make an undersuit and a cloak," Naruto said.

"I'll expect written instructions to be able to continue training in the exercise when we're done the four weeks," Akiko said.

"Yeah," Risa agreed. "Written instructions, depending on whether it's worth it. If it's good I could add it to my future women only classes."

"What are you going to pay me," Naruto asked the Inuzuka girl.

"Bombs," she told him. "I'll give you a complete bomb set and instructions on how to make three particular ones. It'll be your choice on which ones you want the instructions for."

"Cool," Naruto said. Then he turned to his sensei and waited to see what the man would offer.

Tokuma-sensei should have known. Even being their sensei, his team had always worked on a kind of quid pro quo method, always exchanging knowledge or something of one sort or another. He wouldn't be learning for free. "Um," he paused and then said. "Ask me for one thing, a favour if you want."

"I want to buy a good Wakizashi blade and Tanto, but can't," Naruto said. "I'd also like good Bokken versions of both for practice."

"Why can't you," Tokuma-sensei asked.

"The dealers in this town will only sell Bokken weapons to Genin," Naruto huffed. "Some Genin can purchase live weapons, but for some reason they'll only sell me the Bokken weapons and the ones they'd '_let_' me buy are crap. They wouldn't even last after a single hit and are worse then the Academy practice weapons."

"I see," their sensei said surprised that the weapons dealers would sell his students sub-standard weapons. "I'll see what I can do about them, depending on your instructions, little sensei."

"Can I talk to you after you dismiss us," Naruto asked his teacher.

"The mission is finished," Tokuma-sensei said. "So you're dismissed until tomorrow. Meet at our regular training ground, twenty-three, normal time, six am." The girls took off. They were partly excited about the training and wondered just what more they could specialize in.

"You have something you want to ask me," the Jounin asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said. "If I gave you the money could you buy me a heavy Wakizashi and Tanto Bokken? You do know there's a reason they won't sell me the good stuff."

"Do you know the reason," his sensei asked wondering, just like Yuuhi Kurenai had months ago, about how much the boy about his birth and the mark that sealed the demon beast within him.

"Yeah," Naruto told him. "Most of the civilians hate me and want me to die on ninja missions to get rid of me. It's why I'm always wearing orange or other bright colours." He shrugged and then explained, "I used to practice with the Academy's weapons to improve the formations, but I need something closer to the real thing to properly practice with now, especially if I want to use live blade one day. I figured that if we ever got a mission outside of Konoha and in some other city, I'd be able to buy all the live blades I'd need."

"I see," Tokuma-sensei told him. He'd never thought to ask the boy why he hadn't purchased that many live weapons and now he had the answer. He sighed and knew that he'd have to find a way to keep him supplied with some of the base necessities. "All right, what are the lengths and weights that you want? How are you currently getting your shuriken and kunai?"

"Max length Wakizashi Bokken, sixty centimetres, the weight between anything between twelve and fifteen pounds," Naruto told him. "Three quarters to full size for the Tanto Bokken, but it must weigh between sixteen and twenty pounds at least." He was about to give the man the money, but was told to hold off and wait until he could get the items. "The small blades like senbon, shuriken and kunai, are '_borrowed_' from the training grounds. It's not my fault that some get stuck in out of the way places and that most ninja are too lazy to hunt for them."

"It's better to wait, just in case I can't get them anytime soon," his sensei told him. "I'll give you the bill for the bokken weapons after I'm able to pick the up for you, as for your other blades, good thinking. A ninja must be resourceful, especially when you run low on resources."

"But what would be your favour for a copy of the instruction set," Tokuma-sensei asked. "Buying the Bokkens cannot be deemed a favour if you're going to pay for them yourself."

"Taijutsu training," Naruto said. "I'd like to improve my Taijutsu techniques. Maybe help finding a good merchant outside of Konoha for the live blades?"

"Very well, we'll see about that," his sensei said. "You're dismissed until tomorrow morning too."

"Thank you sensei," Naruto said running off in the direction of one of the few places he knew he could get a quick meal at a simple price. He planned to hunt for more pocket blades some time later in the day when most of the Genin teams were no longer in the training grounds.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"Are you kidding me?" Akiko said two weeks into their sensei's training schedule. They'd watched Naruto go through his morning stretch routine, once without weights and once with weights. "You do this every day, several times a day?"

"Why so much," Risa asked. She paused to look at her watch and commented, "Ne, Akiko, that didn't take long complete."

"Sensei," Naruto called out to their Jounin instructor, who'd been asked to set up a wire trap in the most complicated configuration he knew. The blond handed the girls each a pair of goggles and told them, "Flip the lenses to red on the right and blue on the left. Let your eyes adjust and look over at sensei."

The girls' eyes adjusted and then they gasped. There was ninja wire in a seemingly impossible, invisible mesh net in front of them. They saw their sensei, with his Byakugan activated, on the other side of the net. He was prepared to collapse it when a line of the wire if it was triggered, like a spider's web.

The girls saw their team-mate shed his regular orange jumpsuit, ninja sandals and noted that he was wearing a full bodysuit, including feet. He pulled a hood over to cover his hair, put on a pair of ninja goggles too. They noticed that he had gloves and toed socks on too, which acted like gloves for his feet. Then they watched as he did a few stretches to warm up his muscles for the unconventional moves that he was about to make.

His first step was low and then a sweep of his leg had the girls gasping. He was close to the wires, but never touched them. His moves were slow, graceful and most times he was stretched to a most extended position, which he held on with only the tips of his fingers and toes. The gloves were anti-slip and so were the toed socks. He passed many of the wires without skimming any. He was so close that the girls and his sensei couldn't help their gasped or stopped breath reactions while they watched him move through the twisted web.

Close to the end, his back arched and twisted to the left. A high jump kick, twisting over to the right had him avoid the large knot of low wire near the end, but the jump was also calculated to avoid a swinging top wire. A high dive roll cleared the last bit of the net that had nearly been impossible to navigate.

Tomuka-sensei's jawed dropped when he realized he was facing his student that had never once touched a single wire. "I guess that works," he said, stunned at the level of body discipline that the boy had. "Girls what do you think?"

"It's 'cause he's small," Risa said. "No adult would be able to go through all of that."

"She's right," Akiko agreed. "We might, if we had his form and flexibility, but…didn't that nin-wire mesh take a long time to set up. I don't see any Ninja setting that up when on missions in the field."

"You're right," Tokuma-sensei told them. He released the chakra anchors on the kunais that held up the wire. "Most only set up a few base configurations and only the ones that have worked for them in the past. If you gather the wire you can keep it."

Naruto immediately pulled at two of the kunais, while the girls raced to do the same from the other side of the mess. Even if the wire was used once, it could still be used a couple more times before it had to be re-forged into new wire or for melted down for another purpose. He took one of the kunai, planted it in the ground and spun it like a top. He used chakra to keep it spinning and did the same with the other that pulled. With luck, he'd end up with two lengths of wire for practice.

He beat the girls to more of the kunai and repeated his process. The girls were surprised and then followed his lead. It was a good idea. He gained five rolls wire, while the girls each gained three.

Akiko looked at the body suit and had an idea of what he wanted the material for. "If I give enough camo-cloth for a body suit it won't grow with you," she said. "You'd be stuck making another one."

He freed his hair and propped his goggles onto his forehead like he'd used to wear at the Academy. His ninja band was around his neck and that had been his only identifier. "You're right," he said. "I guess you can't make it out of stretch material either."

"There's a way to do it," she told him. "But the technique is not perfected yet. Still needs a few application tests first. Then there's field testing and washing tests to do too."

"I'll test them for you," Naruto said. "I could do it as long as I have other clothing on hand should they rip at the wrong time. How about a new jumpsuit, then only not orange?"

Risa giggled and could totally picture a bum rip happen during a mission. "Maybe you should start by creating under clothing Akiko?"

Tokuma-sensei let out a chuckle and Naruto said, "Hah. Been there and done that. You go matte grey or matte black. Just forget about tidy whities for a mission. It's better to stick with some kind of body suit under regular clothing too."

"Depends on the mission," Risa giggled. "Kunoichi might have to use fancy lace, you know."

"Ugh," Naruto said. "Not even for my Sexy Jutsu."

This had every one laughing because of the time that the girls turned into studs. They knew how to look and act like male eye candy for woman. They'd converged on his female form and forced him to put on lacy underwear, including thong type panties.

They'd made him and their sensei act and be girls while they played with the men forms. It was a good thing that they did that a few times because that's how they discovered the way to alter Naruto's appearance to not be recognizably himself and then same for their sensei and his Hyuga eyes.

"It was a lesson well learned," the man told them. "At least all of you were credited for creating an effective undercover Jutsu. It's unfortunate that it takes quite a bit of chakra unless you dress the part before you change."

"True," Naruto said. "But, when you watch a play or skit on stage, there has to be some quick change tricks that they use. There must be something of that we could copy. You know like something that's red becoming dark brown or black or the reverse."

Akiko thought about it and then asked, "Do you have extra pen and paper on you?"

"Always," Naruto said and he pulled out a few course sheets to make notes on. He handed her a thick lead pencil instead of pen and ink. "Less mess in the field," he explained to them in answer to their questioning looks.

Akiko immediately began to make notes on colours and then said, "List the colours that are adjacent to one another. Maybe it would be better to not make a full camo-cloth, but a series of change clothes."

"I have a colour wheel at home," Naruto said. "But if you line up the primary colours of blue, yellow and red in a triangle. Follow it by their combined colours of green, orange and purple above that and you should understand the base range for most colours."

"Yes," she mumbled. "It's just a matter of making them duller or brighter. Learning the opposites or even colours that complement one another, how did you ever learn this?"

"Took a watercolour class at the Academy with Kurenai-sensei," Naruto confessed. "Even got a recommendation on my file because of it."

"Interesting," Tokuma-sensei said. "Once you're finished writing Akiko, Naruto will begin by instructing us on the base moves that you do."

"Yes, sensei," the blond said. "Risa, lets clear a flat area, while Akiko finishes her notes."

"Sensei," Risa said as she swept the area, removing twigs and branches from the vicinity. "Do you think we could learn to pass through the ninja wire, like Naruto did?"

"You could," Tokuma said. "This could be additional training that we'll do in order to increase your list of skills, but it's one of those that requires periodical practice in order to remain flexible. We'll work on mock situational missions, specific to infiltration and trap detection."

She nodded and said, "Since we're young, we should do it now in order to have the skills for the missions that'd need us to work like that."

"Good idea," Tokuma-sensei said. "We're also going to work on chakra control before we take any more missions."

"About time," Naruto said. "If we don't learn chakra control, we won't be able to learn our elemental affinity or work with it."

"Quite right," Tokuma-sensei said. "Akiko, you'll have to finish making notes later. Little Sensei," he said to Naruto, indicating that the blond was to begin the lessons.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"Sensei," Risa asked, as they had gathered at a food place, eating a treat paid for by their Sensei for the successful completion of their first C-Class mission, after their intensive six week training period. "Could you please tell us about the Chunin exams and what to expect?"

Akiko looked up from the small cardboard square of Dango. "Yes," she chirped up. "What was your exam like?"

Tokuma hesitated and then told them, "I didn't take a Chunin exam. I received an in-field promotion about fifteen years ago."

"War, huh," Naruto stated. "Best sink or swim promotional tool of the ninja ranks. I'm guessing this was to increase the number of people they could send out to the front lines, right?"

"That's right," Tokuma confirmed.

"But you must have attended at least one of the non-war exams," Risa said. "Could you tell us about them, please?"

"I may have," the Hyuga sensei said. "Why do you ask?"

"We're working towards that goal," Akiko said. "It'd be nice to have some idea of what's expected of us before we even get nominated."

Tokuma looked at the three eager faces, sighed and then told them, "The Chunin exams are usually broken down into three categories or sections. The first two must be passed as a team or cell. The last part is usually a display of abilities or skills in a competitive forum, which is done on an individual basis."

"What do the first two sections contain," Risa asked.

"Usually the first is a written exam," Tokuma told them. "The contents are always different, as is how to complete it. The second is usually a survival type of test, which includes extensive teamwork in a hostile, often foreign environment. It's also a physical competition against other teams, kind of a winner take all, sort of thing."

"That's going to be the tough one," Akiko said.

"You'll have to decide whether you wish to participate," Tokuma agreed. "But before that you need to at least do a few more C-Class missions, which I firmly believe that the three of you are ready for. So tomorrow we'll meet at the Missions Office to negotiate for a couple of those."

"Yeah," all three Genin cheered.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**


	5. Chapter 5

**CH 5**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto had been on his Genin team, Team Eleven for approximately a year and half. (...i...) Their sensei had deemed them ready to take the winter Chunin exams in Suna Country, which was a good thing since their country was under treaty with Konoha.

They'd done several C-Class missions, some within the village, but three were done elsewhere, which gave the blond Jinchuriki a chance to get his much wanted live tanto and wakizashi weapons. The girls had followed him and ensured that some of his purchases were materials for clothing that Akiko was going to show him how to make on his own, so that the boy wasn't always stuck with bright colours.

The team had learned quickly why the boy always wore orange when they had gone team shopping at the local shops in the village. None of the shops offered him anything, but orange clothing or bright colours. The girls had been furious and their sensei couldn't convince the shop keeper that the boy needed to blend into the back ground in order to properly do his job.

"Guys, it's all right," Naruto had told them with a toothy grin. "We're taking C-Class missions now and some involve traveling with caravans of traders. Since they don't know me, I could get better fabrics from those merchants at better rates too."

It was true. Their first C-Class mission had been protecting a small textile merchant and his wares. The blond had been an avid textile student during the entire mission, learning about the fabrics and about the differences that would and would not be useful to a ninja.

He was currently wearing dark brown skin-tight pants at capry length and skin-tight shirt with sleeves to the elbow. He had a sleeveless knee length jumpsuit in dark greens with patches of dark reds, yellows, orange and brown. This was courtesy of Akiko's fiddling and he was currently testing the outfit with a promise from the girl that she'd supply him with a new one when he out grew this one.

"We wanted to buy a team item," Risa pouted and left the shop.

"I know," Naruto said. "Sorry guys, but most don't want my money."

"That's not true," Akiko said. "They'd willingly take your money, but will sell you shit instead of what you need."

"Language, young lady," Tokuma-sensei said.

Akiko pouted and crossed her arms, even if she was fourteen now. "Well what are we going to do?"

Risa tugged on one of her ears and then blinked. She looked at her sensei, then Naruto and then Akiko. "Earrings..."

Akiko looked up, thought about it and grinned. "Oh yes," she said. "We can buy the kits at another store and do it ourselves. My older sister wanted to do mine, but my parents told her I was too young."

"How old were you when you wanted them done," Risa asked, she too was fourteen now.

"I was five," Akiko admitted. "This time it's different." Risa nodded her agreement.

Naruto, who, just recently had his twelfth birthday, thought about it because he was a boy, but he'd seen men wearing earrings so he didn't think that it would be that bad. '_Never had any team activity like that in my past_,' he thought. '_I wonder what my old class would've thought about that, if I'd gotten them back then._'

"Naruto," Tokuma-sensei said. "Do you want to do this?"

"Do you Sensei," the blond boy asked him back. The girls looked at him and he shrugged. "I don't mind as long as it's for both my ears and that you two go buy what I need to get them done."

Akiko brightened and so did Risa. "Sensei," she asked the Jounin. "What about you, sir, would you join us in this too?"

"I'm part of your team aren't I," Tokuma said with a gentle smile. He'd never had a team include him in this kind of thing either. It was kind of nice to not be forgotten. "Make sure you buy the items needed for after care too."

"Yes sensei," the girls said and entered another shop that catered to those kinds of items. They ran in giggling and Naruto just moved away from the store's front so that the merchant wouldn't know that the girls were buying him a pair of earrings.

"Does that bother you," Tokuma-sensei asked his student.

"Nah," Naruto said thoughtfully. "I've gotten used to most of the merchants short changing me or selling my garbage that they wouldn't feed a starving dog. The D-Class missions have taught me how to hunt for my own meats and how to cultivate plants and herbs to supplement what I can buy. I'm grateful for that because I don't have to rely on food from the bad ones anymore."

"If you become the Hokage..."

"They'll still be people that I'd fight for," Naruto replied honestly. "They'd allow my precious people to live and their services are essential for my precious people, so I'll fight… even for those that don't like me." He grinned and said, "I'm a Shinobi of Konoha because I earned this and because I chose this job," he fingered to his Hitai-ate.

"You still have a long way to go," Tokuma told him and the corrected what he meant. "I mean to become the Hokage."

"I know," Naruto said as the girls left the shop.

Akiko was eager to get this done and asked, "Where should we do this?"

"My place," Risa said. "There are pups that just finished being weaned and I want to show them to you guys. My parents won't mind either." They'd never said a word about Naruto or any of her other teammates whenever she'd mentioned them, so she was sure they'd be fine with her team visiting.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

(..._Gaki..._) The fox called to him several nights later.

(...Hmm...) Naruto said and turned his focus internally. (...What is it?...)

(..._What the hell is this?..._) The fox asked wiggling a long ear in his direction.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and then started laughing. The earrings he'd gotten days before had copied and been implanted into the ears belonging to the demon fox. They were much larger and looked to fit the demon, but the stones were unmistakably similar to the ones in the blond boy's ears.

(...Ah, hah, hah...) He laughed. (...I, hah, got these several days, hah, ago...) He pointed to the dark purple studs glinting from his ears. (...My team each got a pair of the same colour and we pierced our ears...) He'd done Risa's ears and his Sensei had done his. Risa did Akiko's ears and Sakura's cousin did their Sensei's.

(...It was a team thing...) He then paused dramatically and said. (...Welcome to the team...)

The demon fox huffed and said, (..._Don't get anything else pierced while I'm still around_...)

(...Hai, hai...) Naruto agreed with a chuckle. (...That all, what about tattoos?...)

(..._Don't try my patience kid. I expect to be consulted for any tattoos, just in case there are adverse effects with these Seals. There's got to be a way to protect against such reflections_...) The demon said as he grumbled and twitched both his ears as though he could remove the offending items.

Naruto's awareness had only been diverted for a short time. He was currently in the middle of packing his supplies. They were going to Suna on the following day in order to take the Chunin exams. He couldn't wait to get there in order to see Gaara and maybe help the poor boy out a little earlier that he'd done in the past.

'_Let's be honest, I never knew about him until he arrived for the Chunin exams here,_' he thought, packing some overnight camping equipment. '_No real need for a tent, but definitely a cover of some kind. Desserts are cold at night too._' His weapons care kit was placed in his backpack, along with a cloak.

He added a scroll that held a canvas cover, a sleeping bag of down that was made for all types of weather, rope of several lengths and pegs with push buttons that snap an anchor open. In another scroll he had a large wok like pan, a large pot, five bundles of firewood, matches, flint and strikers (in case) and four bundles of prepackaged rations that only needed water to boil them into readiness. The final scroll contained most of the clothing he thought he'd need for the trip.

He paused and then added his watercolour and drawing items in an additional scroll. This was just in case he had some downtime to make some drawings. He usually did that in every town they visited. The girls and their sensei were used to seeing him with a drawing pad and several pencils in a small over the shoulder satchel that tucked easily under one arm when needed to be moved out of the way.

'_Thank Kami for storage scrolls_,' he thought. '_There's nothing worse than trying to haul all the gear you need in too many bags._' The only problem with storage scrolls was that they were limited by the number of items, item type and sometimes by the chakra strength of the person that activated or created them.

The following day Team Eleven met at the gates and traveled to Suna with five other teams of Konoha Genin. The changes in the countryside were gradual, but they all felt the heat of Suna Country when they passed one of the border stations.

"Wow," Naruto said. "It's like a sea of sand." It did indeed look like a sea, even with the wind blowing sand dust and dust clouds over the surface. It even had waves. The others of Konoha that had never visited Suna Country were equally awed by the expanse.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"All right you little shits," the Jounin proctor to the Suna exam said to all the Genin in the room. "Take a number from the box, sit down at that spot and shut up." The process didn't take too long and soon everyone was seated at random locations in the room. "Write your name, seat number, team or cell number and the village that you're from at the top of the exam sheet. Put your pencils down and wait for further instructions."

The steely, eyed Jounin proctor noted that many listened to her and that quite a few did not. A few discrete coughs from their seat companions had them complying, since the exam couldn't begin until everyone paid attention to the large Jounin woman at the front of the room.

"NOW," she said in a tone that made most of the Genin jumped because they'd been startled by it. Team Eleven from Konoha and eight others did not react.

Shinobi were not to take note of loud noises unless in direct relation to their active missions. Notes by the examining proctors were marked on the clipboards that they had in their hands. "You must pass with your team. Ten questions total overall are shared among your team or cell members. Each question is worth five points. Your team needs a minimum of thirty points total to move onto the next phase of the exam. Anyone caught cheating and you'll leave the room, with your team members joining you, immediately to leave in disgrace."

"BEGIN NOW," she bellowed loudly. Again the same teams that took no notice of the volume of her voice were noted. The others had points marked against them in increments that would be used to take away a team's accumulated written exam points. Whereas the teams that never reacted gained points, this included a gain for those that quickly followed the initial instructions. Points were taken off for those that caused a delay in the start of the exam time.

Naruto looked at the questions, sighed and answered every question that he believed a Genin could answer with a bit of judicious observation of the room. This made it seem like he was looking around for someone to copy from, but in reality he didn't need to. He returned to his paper every once in a while and wrote another answer.

He skipped a couple and answered another one that looked like he was following one the plants in the room. Then he returned to fill out most of the rest and chose to leave what he'd thought were the harder ones alone. His written exam was still a guaranteed forty pointer for him and his teammates. He hoped that the girls caught on to the information gathering part of this exam.

The exam time was two exact hours long and three teams had already been eliminated because their technique in information gathering was very poor. "TIME," the proctor yelled. "PUT THOSE PENCILS DOWN NOW."

One additional team lost points, including the same others that reacted to her initial bellows. It was not Team Eleven from Konoha village. They were used to loud noises because of Risa's love of things that explode. '_At least it's only noise,_' Naruto thought. '_If there was anything added to the noise like Risa's pepper bombs, I know that Akiko and I would be out of here._'

"Go into the room across the hall, while we correct these and evaluate your conduct in this room," the Proctor said.

The room allowed the Genin teams to mingle. However most were too nervous and chose to hang out in their cell formations. Half an hour later another proctor show up and said, "All right everyone, the following teams go back into the room across the Hall. Team eight Suna, Team five Kiri, Team nine Suna, Team eleven Konoha, Team six Konoha, Team three Suna, Team..."

Naruto noted that only one third of the teams that had taken the written portion of the exam came back to that original room. The girls stuck close to him and that made him feel like a protector for them, even though he knew full well that they were very capable in defending their own honour. Besides they were way taller than him now.

It was one of the ploys to make them seem like an easier target and a suggestion that their Jounin-sensei had advised that they take whenever they travel. This strategy made many people underestimate them. It was still a strategy that made the blond boy feel ten feet tall, though.

As soon as no other Genin team entered the room the first proctor said, "Congratulations. You guys pass on to the next phase of the exam. You have two hours to prepare, meet your Sensei and get guided to this year's exam location. It's the The Buried Palace in the dessert, dismissed!"

Akiko eyes glittered and Risa was about ready to laugh at nothing in particular. Naruto wanted run fast and far, but instead he left the room with his teammates to seek out their Sensei. They needed to make sure that they had the right combination of supplies to succeed the second stage of their exam.

Hyuga Tokuma watched with worried eyes for the emergence of his team with the others that had been disqualified. His team plus one other from Konoha seemed to be delayed. A Genin from one of four other failed teams said, "They passed."

Tokuma blinked and thanked them for the information. The four teams from Konoha that failed were permitted to stay until the end of the Chunin exams or leave depending on the reports received from the exam results. Their Jounin-senseis chose to receive the exam results first before making any decision, after which they all elected to leave Suna. It seems that those teams were some of most the disruptive ones and needed quite a bit of remedial training in stealth and information gathering.

Tokuma watched an excited blond come flying out of the building, followed by two equally excited young ladies. They all squealed, giggled and jumped for their joy in passing the first phase of the exam. Naruto handed their Sensei the map that they were to follow in order to get to their new location. Apparently there was transport that they could opt to take to the place, so he led them to the area with the funniest looking creatures.

"They're camels," he told them. They followed the instructions to mount them and then they were off, racing into the dessert. The transportation was offered to all visiting Genin teams, as this might be the only time that they'd experience such a strange mode of transport.

The Buried Palace looked like it lived up to its name. Once they had arrived they still had an hour to prepare. "Tokuma-sensei," Naruto said. "Can I draw for a bit?"

"Are you ready for the next phase," the Jounin asked.

"As much as I can be," Naruto nodded his head.

"Very well," Tokuma-sensei told him. He watched as the blond Jinchuriki sat down in the sand and pulled out the charcoal pencils he'd just picked up locally with the various tan and brown colours of the region.

Naruto began to draw the milling animals that they had just ridden to get there. The man had to smile because the image was obviously going to be a good memory for the boy.

The girls were happy when Konoha's Team Six finally arrived because one of their friends was on that team and they wanted to chat about what they thought might be happening for their next phase of their Chunin exam. The also watched fondly as their teammate quickly captured the desert people that had escorted them, the animals and a few of the groups of Genin teams milling about the area.

He even captured the parts of the building that had been exposed and emerged from the sand in order to be used for this portion of the exam. He drew his team in the front of it. They were mock posed as though a picture had been taken instead of his imagination drawing it.

"Naruto," Tokuma-sensei said. He watched as the boy finished his last quick sketch.

"Thank you Sensei," Naruto said. He stood up, put away the drawing pad and pencils and then stretched his arms. He stretched, did a few handstands to unkink his fingers and asked, "Should I remove them?"

"Not unless you think you need to," Tokuma said to him about the weights that the blond was wearing on his wrists and ankles.

The Proctor in charge of this second phase spoke to the groups, "All right everyone listen up. See these forms," he held up a bundle of papers. "You sign them and then we can go onto the next phase. Basically it's a form that states we will not be held responsible for idiots getting themselves killed by being stupid in there. Your task is to carry a statuette of either red or black. To successfully finish the exam your team must have both colours."

He paused and then continued, "You fail if even one of your members is unable to finish with you, for any reason. This is the first time we're using the Buried Palace for a Chunin exam. It's an ancient structure full of ancient traps that will destroy you completely. Your task is to enter one of these four entrances," he pointed to four darkened entrances that they could all see. "Find a team with the statuette of the colour you need and take it from them. There is a pedestal somewhere in the centre of the building with places for the two of them. You need to place the two different coloured ones on it to complete the second phase of this Chunin exam. You have seven days to finish this task."

Naruto gripped the Tanto handle in the belt of his outfit. He had his Wakizashi sword strapped to his back on an angle. The Akiko flexed her hands. Risa placed hers on one of the pouches at her hips, which contained a number of her bombs.

They'd signed the papers and were handed the black statuette, which meant that they needed to find a team with a red one and take it from them. They also had to navigate the palace and avoid any old and possibly newly laid traps.

Akiko was the one selected to carry the item and had it tucked away in one of the many blank storage scrolls.

"When I call your team, you go to one of the entrances until there is a team at each entrance, after which the four teams will enter and then we'll call for the next four teams until all cells are in the Palace," the proctor said.

"A word of warning or opportunity for those of you going in there, the Kazegakage of Suna has given all of you blanket permission to take and keep whatever treasure you happen to find during the course of your exam." This announcement elicited frowns from most of the visiting Jounin-senseis, but the Suna proctor just continued. "However any of those treasures are likely to hold the deadliest of all traps, but the choice is yours."

He looked at some of the Genins excited faces and there were very few that frowned at the prospect of treasure. The most notably frowning Genin was the small blond boy that was surprisingly teamed up with two older girls. The proctor shrugged and began to call out the team numbers.

Naruto's team was part of the second wave of Genin going into the building. He pulled out a blank scroll to make notes and another piece of paper to begin mapping the entrance area. He trusted the girls and followed their Chakra using primarily the '_Gyo_' technique from Nen Jutsu that he was practicing. He wore ninja goggles to hide that ability.

"Stop," he said. He looked up and down and then said, "There's dust on the ground. That means that no team has passed before us in this section."

"What," Akiko said. "There were only four entrances to the Palace."

Risa sniffed the air and nodded. "He's right. There's no smell of human sweat or of the eraser that one of the team in front of had used for the written exam."

Akiko looked more closely at the walls and then looked back. "Gengutsu or shifting walls?"

"Maybe both," Naruto said. "It'll make mapping useless, but I'll still make notes in case we encounter traps."

"Good point," Akiko agreed. "So who leads?"

"Naruto," Risa said. "He more quick on his feet plus he's got that technique."

"All right," Naruto said, taking point. He headed down the single tunnel and kept an eye out for potential openings. He handed his notepaper and pencil to Akiko to continue them. "We're headed downhill." He told them.

Risa placed small one inch squared of very lightly scented tags of paper on the walls. She had several in different scents that would allow her to change a scent if they changed direction. They would also let her know if they'd walked around in a circle.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Four days later they had their second statuette and had fought three teams, only one had what they needed. Now they had to get to the centre of the structure before the seventh day. They were close because it was only one floor above them.

On their fifth day they found a large treasure room. They had a very spirited debate about whether to take anything. Naruto was against it because the dead and items of the dead should remain sealed.

"But Naruto," Akiko said. "The Kazekage had given us permission to do this. Think of what we could learn."

"That's what scares me," the boy told them. "Some things should never be exposed."

"Yeah, but…" Risa started and when they were both paying attention to her, she continued. "Other teams will pass through here and take the treasure."

"All I see is an Alter," Naruto said. "The pots look empty and the walls are creepy. There are holes where the eyes should be in the wall carvings."

"We'll step were you step," Akiko said. "We'll stop when you tell us."

"That's a lot of responsibility," Naruto said.

"There's an opening of fresh air near the Alter area, though," Risa said with her nose in the air. "We can't even really go back now either, because the walls shifted again." Sure enough that path that they'd taken to get to this room was no longer there. They had no choice, but to go through the large room.

Naruto sighed and could see how this wouldn't turn out well for them. He chewed on his lip and then said, "All right, but you two rest a bit, while I have a look around."

He activated his Nen Jutsu and cycled through the meditative techniques to centre his inner core. "Ren," he breathed in. "Ten," he breathed out. "Gyo," he opened his eyes and focused everywhere he could. The Gyo Jutsu revealed auras from only four of the many pots that were lined up along the walls and something on the top or in the Alter.

"There are four pots that we could store away," Naruto said and pointed them out. "Look at the floor, there are hidden spring traps, which may or may not activate."

"I'll get them," Risa said. She crouched down and activated a partial Inuzuka technique that allowed her to crawl on all fours and increased her sense of smell.

"Put them in these," Akiko said and handed her four small storage scrolls. "They've never been used and this way we can each have a treasure, plus give one to sensei."

The Inuzuka girl nodded and very slowly made her way around to the pots their companion had indicated. She successfully collected all four and was about to make her way back.

"No," Naruto said. "Stay where you are. Akiko, look up."

The Haruno girl did and gasped. Spikes were slowly lowering. The removal of that last pot had triggered a trap. "Shit," she said. "Risa, try and get to the Alter, but take your time. Naruto?"

"Walk on the walls," Naruto said. He pulled out a harness and had her put it on. He tied a carabiner to himself and roped the two of them together. "If you slip, you know what to do. Don't worry, I'll hold you, but keep moving. I suspect darts likely poisoned ones, are in the walls."

"Okay," Akiko said. "Let's do this. Risa?"

"There are spikes coming up from the floor now," the Inuzuka girl said, as she side-stepped to avoid one coming up.

"Drop your four footed Jutsu and walk the walls," Naruto said. He chose to walk on the wall with the most holes because if anything came out from the opposite wall it was likely to miss them. "You're closest to the supposed exit. See if there is something to stop the traps near the Alter."

Ten minutes later Akiko slipped and that's when they sped their movements. "Now," he said as he ran and jumped, avoiding more spikes coming from the walls this times. '_Not poison darts at least._'

Akiko kept up and Risa was already at the Alter area. She was transfixed by something on it though. Suddenly she pushed a hidden button and all spikes retracted. "Oh my god, you guys hurry up," she cried. "I pressed the wrong one and there's a gas leaking into the room."

Naruto cut the rope and dropped Akiko to the floor. He dropped down next to her and said, "We can run from here."

They ran to the Alter. A blinding flash appeared from its top. "Countdown to room's destruction continued," a mechanical voice said. "Five…," Risa was through the slowly closing door.

" Four…"

Naruto hauled Akiko through the door. The girl crashed into Risa, who grabbed a hold of her friend. They both shouted, "Naruto!"

The blond Jinchuriki pressed three buttons on the Alter.

"Three…", a hidden compartment opened.

"Two…", he grabbed the item inside, stored inside a scroll and slid under the stone door before it fully closed.

"One," the muffled voice said.

"This way," Naruto said and grabbed both the girls' arms to get them up and out of the way of the explosion that was coming. "Go… quickly." The area rocked from the muffled sound behind the door. "Keep going," he told them, as he tucked storage scroll away in a pouch.

The walls cracked and that indicated to the girls that they had to run no matter what. The cracks were racing them and suddenly there were more cracks in front of them. "Shit," Akiko said. She found a passage that split in two and turned into one, but it was the wrong way. "AAHHH!"

"AKIKO!" Risa screamed and grabbed the girl's hand and arm. Naruto skidded up behind her and helped her to pull their teammate out that room. As soon as they pulled her out, they noticed that she was missing one of her feet. Her right leg bled from her ankle. "What happened?"

"Something bit it," Akiko said. "Or it was cut by an old trap. I couldn't see into the room and I forgot to sense for traps with my chakra. I'm getting woozy…" She passed out.

Naruto pulled the cut climbing rope from his belt and bound Akiko's ankle in a tourniquet to stop the bleeding. He then bound the whole thing with white clean silk and then he tossed the remainder of the silk roll to Risa.

He hauled Akiko onto his back and secured her there. "Risa," he said to the crying girl. "We're done, lead us out."

"But the exam," Risa said.

"We'll have another chance at another time, we can't finish it now," he said. "We need to get the both of you to a medical centre first."

"What are you talking about," the Inuzuka said.

"Risa," Naruto said in a patient tone. He took the silk roll from her right hand and wrapped up the other hand, quickly and efficiently. He bound injured arm to her chest. "Let's go," he said. "Lead us out of here."

"Yes," she said. "Aren't you injured?"

"Not that badly," Naruto said. "We can't waste time, keep moving. I don't think that we're too far now." They turned around the corner and there was the pedestal for the statues. That's how close they had been to finishing the second phase of the Chunin exam without injury.

"I'll put the statuettes on the pedestal," she said and took them from the scroll that Akiko had stored them in.

As soon as they were in place, a proctor appeared from the puff of ninja smoke. He took one look at all three and said, "Hold onto this." He held out a length of wood. "We'll get to the medical centre. We'll also inform your sensei where you are, what's his or her name?"

"Hyuga Tokuma from Konoha," Risa said. "Thank you."

The Jounin nodded and didn't bother to let them know that they failed. It was evident by the bandages on one girl's hand and on the other girl's foot.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Haruno Akiko's foot had been fully severed and technically amputated in the Buried Palace. She was going to be in rehabilitation for a long while and would probably never be able to continue the path of the Kunoichi. At least she'd already planned her retirement, so-to-speak, and had prospective customers already lined up. She wasn't bitter because it had been her decision to take that path.

Inuzuka Risa's hand had been deeply burnt. Rehabilitation was part of her long-term future too. However she did plan to continue her Kunoichi training, she knew would never go past the rank Chunin. She still wanted to open facility for women to go train without any male presence. There might be one exception. That is if he used Sexy Jutsu and went there to teach.

Uzumaki Naruto visited the girls as they did their rehabilitation, but Team Eleven was officially disbanded for the time being and another set of three Genin will inherit that team or cell number. The twelve year old, blond boy needed to be recycled into a new team. It was felt that he'd able to aid his new Jounin-sensei in training two newly promoted Genin, rather than being made to fit into an older team.

"Will you be all right," Risa asked.

"Of course," Naruto said. "As long as I'm not placed with the Uchiha or Akiko's cousin Sakura, those two would probably be the worst combination to mix with me."

"So true," Akiko said from her bed in Suna's medical centre. Team Eleven were saying their goodbyes to the girl now that her parents were here to oversee her transportation back to Konoha. "You still have to buy your clothes from me."

"That's a promise," Naruto said, along with Risa. His attention was split when he felt the presence of another Jinchuriki just outside of the room. "I'll let the two of you say goodbye. We'll see when you get back to Konoha."

"Thanks for everything Naruto," Akiko said. "Come by anytime to bitch and moan about your teammates."

"I'll do that," he stepped outside of the room and closed the door. He watched a red-headed youth walk away. He scaled the walls, ran along them, caught up to the one that was Shukaku's container and dropped down in front of him. "Hey," he said. "Who are you?"

This was the first time that any visiting ninja had asked for his name, "Gaara," the Suna Genin replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Just making sure," Naruto said. He leaned in and whispered, "I can help with that." He pointed to the shifting sands that were the cause of the red-head's sleeplessness.

"How do you know," Gaara said. "What is your name?"

"I'm like you," Naruto said. "Uzumaki Naruto."

"A weapon," Gaara said with a nod.

"No," Naruto said. "A Protector, for my village."

Gaara blinked at that. The sand at his feet moved as though it wanted to attack, but hesitated. Then the youngest son of the Kazikage stated, "You failed to become Chunin."

"True," Naruto said with a good-natured grin. "But the future's not written in stone. I'll have other chances. I can still help you with that, if you want me to."

"Hm…no," Gaara said. "Perhaps... in the future."

"That's a guarantee," Naruto said and watched the sand lift up to try and attack him. He let out invisible heat in a stabbing motion that stopped the sand. Gaara looked surprised, as Naruto's friendly expression never change, but he'd shrugged at the curiosity shown. "Told you," he'd said and then he watched the confused red headed boy and future Kazikage continued on his way.

Tokuma and Risa were waiting for Naruto at the entrance of Suna's medical centre. "Let's go home," Tokuma-sensei said to the last two members of Team Eleven. "You two will have to write a report about what happened in the Buried Palace and perhaps try to explain why the Kazikage is not happy about it collapsing."

Naruto's eyes twinkled and he winked at Risa, who giggled and that caused to him to chuckle, as they used chakra in their legs to speed up their travel time to home to Konoha.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(...i...) Yes, I'm pushing the time line in a twisty way. He'll still only be twelve when he'll be joining Team Seven. They take the Chunin exams only months after they graduate anyway, so the timeline fits.


	6. Chapter 6

**CH 6**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto was in the Missions Office receiving his new official orders, after having to take a month's leave. It had to be taken in order to monitor his health and deem him fit for duty, despite the fact that nothing had happened to him in the Buried Palace like it had for his two teammates. The Hokage had wanted to speak to him specifically too and so the blond boy had to wait for several long minutes, until he was called into the office.

"Hello Naruto," the third Hokage said in greeting. "Your mission report from Suna was interesting. Tell me… did you manage to bring back treasure?"

"No sir," Naruto said in complete honesty. He hadn't taken the time to look into the storage scrolls that were used to remove the four pots or at the secreted device that even the girls of his old team didn't know about. So technically none of them knew if they'd removed treasure or not.

The old man chuckled and then said, "A council decision has been made and you to be placed with two Genin from the new batch coming out from the Academy, this spring. Your mission is to try and ensure that they pass the secondary stage of the exam. You're also to aid the Jounin-sensei with their instruction, but only when asked to do so."

"Hn," Naruto eyes narrowed. "So, who's the sensei and what team?"

The old man handed him a scroll that contained some insight to his new teammates, which included base information on his new sensei too. "Team Seven, reports to the Academy for their placement in five days," Sarutobi told him. "This will give enough time to what you need to do."

"Understood, sir," Naruto said and pocketed the scroll. The extra time was his to with as he pleased. It was then that their meeting was interrupted by a disturbance outside of the room and then suddenly a long scarf wearing kid with a missing front tooth appeared and screamed at the old man. The boy tripped and fell flat on his face in front of the old man's desk.

"Wah," the boy cried. He pointed at Naruto, who only lifted an eyebrow as the kid complained. "You, you did it, you attacked me."

"You tripped over your own scarf because it was impractically long," the blond said. "You have no personal awareness, so you're just an idiot child."

Ebisu, the boy's ninja tutor, had followed the kid in and said, "Honourable grandson, do not listen to this person. He's beneath your notice."

Naruto snorted. He watched as the kid actually tried to attack the old man in the presence of a stranger. He shook his head, grabbed the end of the scarf and pulled the kid away from the old man. The kid fell in a tumbled heap at his feet.

"Kid," the blond said. "You don't attack a Kage like that. You need more training, subtlety and you're totally exposed. The Shinobi arts aren't to be used that way."

"I don't know who are you, but you don't have any right to tell me what to do," the kid replied. He walked up to Naruto and tried to kick him. The blond moved too quickly for the kid to see and swept the boy's legs out from under him. It had made the boy fall onto his back, winding him.

"See this," Naruto pointed to the Hitai-ate around his neck. "I earned this. This also means that I'm a Ninja of this village. You are only citizen. Attacking the Hokage, no matter what his relationship is to you," he paused and glared at the ninja that stood gaping from the doorway. "Means that you're supposed to get subjected to intensive interrogation, torture and possibly jail-time. That is, if you've lived through the torture. Of course that might also depend on how far you got when you attacked the Kage. So what'll be kid?"

Ebisu's jaw dropped even further from its primary position. "How dare you address the Hokage's honourable grandson that way? He's being groomed to become a future Hokage and you're nothing of consequence, you're just…"

"Ebisu," the Hokage warned.

The kid scowled as he listened to the exchange. '_There it is_,' he thought. '_Someone else who'll treat me special and only because I'm the Hokage's grandson._'

Naruto smirked and then smacked the boy hard on his noggin with a closed fist and digging in his point. "I don't care about that," the blond said. "The law states…"

"Ah, Naruto," Sarutobi said. "It's all right."

"I'd still recommend jail time for the brat," Naruto shrugged, crossed his arms and then he said. "Oh well, since I've five days until I meet the new team, permission to leave the village for supplemental training on the plateau then."

"Granted," the old man said. He filled out one of the many forms on his desk that he kept for such situations. "Here you go," Sarutobi handed him the signed and stamped paper. "Only for four days, I'm afraid. It's been booked by another team after that."

Naruto saw an added notation at the bottom, quirked an eyebrow and received a nodded permission from the old man. He bowed and left room. As he passed the ninja, Ebisu, who was supposedly the boy's primary instructor, he kicked the man in the ass. This sent the supposedly elite ninja flying into room with such speed that he crashed face first into the wall.

"Hmph," the blond boy muttered and shook his head, as he left. "You're not much of anything either, pretentious, snooty...," and the rest, of what Genin Uzumaki said, couldn't be heard by those in the room anymore.

Sarutobi, the third Hokage watched the elite tutor grumble from his position. His grandson's eyes sparkled and he ran away to catch up to the one ninja that had been able to take out his boring tutor. Not only that, but that blond boy was the first one to ever strike him and tell him about the dangers of attacking his grandfather.

Naruto casually walked down the street making a few mental notes of what he needed in order to conduct his private training. He knew that he'd need some extra equipment, if that notation were to come into effect. He shrugged and thought, '_I've just gotten written permission to corrupt the kid, if he follows me, heh, heh,…This never happened in the past, I wonder how the tutor will be occupied during the time frame, if the kid escapes the village…_'

The blond hopped from rooftop to rooftop to quickly pack his camping gear. He ensured that he had enough food rations and just the base equipment. '_Four days should be enough time to remove some of the stars from the kid's eyes,_' he thought. '_He needs to see the hard work first hand in order to learn to take his time and just be a kid. I know he's got friends to hang out with._'

Naruto secured his apartment with a few traps. He ensured that most his live weapons were safely stored at Akiko's place because he didn't trust most people in the village to leave his belongings alone. '_I know that I'm the Yondaime's son,_' he thought. '_There has to be some clan property that I can access…I guess they still need me to remain ignorant though._'

He hopped out of his apartment window, after having packed most of his fresher foodstuffs into a scroll that had a built in section that kept cold things cold. He'd never told anyone about that in the past. It was one of those Fuuinjitsu Techniques with the element of snow mixed in. No one knew he had that elemental affinity, but then again that was one of the stolen Kages elements from his past battle with his last enemy.

He dropped to the street and kicked a completely square box configured to look like stone. The box exploded in a loud puff of coloured smoke. It was the same kid that had tried to attack the Hokage in the old man's office.

"Look kid," Naruto said. "That was a poor form to use to hide and too easily detected. You'll have to do better than that to fool me." He turned and walked away. The boy then chose to zip into a shadow, which the blond noticed. The technique was sort of okay, but that kid's scarf revealed his position every single time.

Naruto ignored the boy until he reached the gate guards and handed them the note. The Chunin looked at it wide-eyed. The blond glanced in the direction of his shadow and the guards just shrugged. They made a notation in their records and handed the permission slip back to the Genin.

Then Chunin then made an obvious show of being distracted when a garbage can exploded nearby, even though they knew who did it. The long scarf wearing shadow thought he'd succeeded in passing them by and tried to follow the blond Genin, who was on a path towards a plateau found on the mountain's cliff side behind the Hokage Monument.

Naruto ensured that the boy was exhausted from trying to keep up, before he stopped, turned back and looked down at the huffing kid. "Well, what should I do now," he said. "I could return you to the village and forget that I'd earned the right to train in peace. Take you with me and make you train hard to pay back for my loss of private time or I can call one the guards that followed you and get them to take you back?"

"Take me with you," the kid said. "I'll do whatever you say. Please treat me like a ninja. I am ninja or I'm gonna the best ninja, you'll see."

"Very well," Naruto said. "I hate wasting my time getting somewhere with someone not yet trained to keep up." He shifted his backpack to the front, picked up the kid and placed him at his back in a piggy-back position. "You hang on," the blond said. "Cause we're gonna fly."

The kid, who'd yet to introduce himself to the Genin, closed his eyes as he felt the body under him spring up and hop quickly from tree branch to tree branch with a speed he didn't know could be learnt while young. They reached the rock-face in record time and now it was just a matter of climbing it.

"By the way my name's Konohamaru," the kid told him, as he'd been let down from the back of the person that had carried him far from the entrance of Konoha village.

"Naruto," the blond replied. He pulled out a long length of coiled rope and placed it on the ground. "Follow my lead and stretch your limbs like I do. When we're done that, we need to take a piss in the woods to clear our bladders."

The boy watched and tried to follow some of the stretches, but didn't quite understand why. They returned from the toilette break and the kid asked, "Why'd we have to go?"

"So that we don't piss ourselves because it takes too long to climb the rock face. Normally I'd just whip it out and piss out in the open, but you're going to be traveling below me, so I don't think you'd like it if I pissed on your head, now would you?"

"Gross," Konohamaru stated and covered his head from the imagery he could see in his mind's eye. Then he watch as the Genin picked up the coil of rope and begin to approach him. "What are you going to do," he asked. "You're not a pervert or something."

"Nope," Naruto replied. "I need to make you a rope harness, so that you can climb the rock with me, now stand still." He wrapped the rope in such a way that the boy felt like he'd been placed into a real harness that went around both his legs, around his waist and over his shoulders. A large karabiner was clipped to the X formation of rope on the boy's back.

"You step where I step," the Genin told him, as he tied the other part of the rope to himself. He also handed him a pair of bear paw (…i…) gloves. These were modified for the spikes or claws to be in the palm of the gloves rather than the usually bear claws that ninja used. "These will help you to learn how to climb using your fingers, but will also help you catch the rock face when you can't find a finger hold. Let's go."

"What if I fall," Konohamaru asked, knowing it was way too late to back away from this adventure.

"The rope will hold," Naruto said. "I'm going to continue climbing, but you climb as much as you can until your limbs feel like noodles. I'm going to do an evaluation on your skills. Climb for as long as you can. When you can't, you let me know so that I can prepare myself the haul you up, understood." The boy developed a stubborn look in his eyes.

"You need to tell me as a warning for when I'm going to be carrying extra weight because my path going up will have to change," the Genin explained. The look didn't leave the boy's eyes, so he bopped him on the head with his fist. "It's not a matter of pride you little idiot, it's a matter of survival. You followed me and said you'll do anything. I'm telling you to let me know when you can no long hang on, understood."

"Yes, Boss," the kid rubbed his head and sniffed. He looked back longingly in the direction of the village, but it was way too late. He was out of familiar territory with someone who was practically a stranger to him.

Naruto just nodded and began his climb. The kid observed and then began the slow crawl up the cliff side of the mountain.

He'd done a bit of wall climbing with his tutor, but nothing of that had prepared him for this. He climbed as far as he could and still climbed some more from sheer stubbornness. He noted that the leader always paused to wait for him when the rope distance lengthened and started to tighten. His toes hurt, his fingers were sore and he'd nearly pissed himself a couple times when he'd slipped from what he'd believed to be a secure foothold.

He gave in when they'd passed the halfway mark about thirty minutes ago. "Boss," he called up. "Naruto, I don't think that I can hold onto anything anymore."

"Grab the rope," the Genin called down. "Shift your position so that your feet are flat on the cliff. When I pull on it, you walk up slowly hand over hand, letting the rope get slack until you're close to me, then you'll stop and rest, while I climb and we'll continue until we reach the top. Understood?"

"Yes Boss," the kid replied. '_Why didn't we begin with that,_' he thought and then realized. '_He taught me! He actually taught me to…_' His thoughts broke as he felt the tug on the rope to indicate that he was to walk up, almost like a reverse situation from repelling. He neared the blond and noted the sweat the Genin had from the climb.

The kid was ashamed that he butted into the ninja's independent training time. '_He'd have gotten up a lot faster, if I wasn't around._'

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said as the boy neared him again. "Having someone else around is training for me too." The kid looked up and noted the serious look on the prankster's face. "I have to join a new team of graduated Genin. They won't know even half the things that my old team knew, so I'll have to show them how to do things like this too. Remember I chose to let you come and you chose to follow me. Now let's continue the climb and get to our camping area before the sun sets. If we're lucky we can even take a dip in the pond before going to sleep."

"There's a pond up there," Konohamaru asked in excitement, eager to shed his sweaty clothing.

"A waterfall too," Naruto said as he began to climb again. "It's good for a quick shower, but you need to remember that the pond is shallow, so no diving, understood?"

"Yes Boss," the kid replied with a formal salute. He waited and watched the Genin climb. Just by watching he learned how the older youth did it, using a kunai as a piton anchor. Periodically the blond dusted his hands in the dirt and that's how the kid found a natural way to remove the sweat from his palms.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto looked into the campfire and then to the boy that had curled up in one of the blond's larger old t-shirts and inside an old smaller sleeping bag that the Genin still had. He'd brought along a few of his old clothes and gear because that kid was totally unprepared to camp out in the open.

There was a large canvas tarp, strung between two trees with rope and pegged in a way that gave it the upside down **V** tent form. He'd had the kid gather twigs, dry grass and long branches, while he looked for a good sized downed tree to chop up for firewood, after he'd set up the base tent.

Konohamaru had been subjected to another piggy-back ride in order to get to the campsite. It was only after they'd reached the approximate camping area that the rope harness had been removed. They did stretches to remove any kinks that had developed during the course of their climb. The kid watched as the Genin pulled out a scroll that held some of the gear that was needed for camping.

That first night they ate dry and tin rations only. They bathed quickly in the pool and the kid was grateful that extra clothing had been brought along for him. They dug their toilette trench and found a piss stump before the kid slumped quickly into sleep in an old, but surprisingly comfy sleeping bag, as the Genin fixed to the fire burn smokeless and yet still provide the heat needed for the night. They were in an elevated location, which was naturally colder than the village.

Naruto snorted as he heard the kid mumble with a whiny tone, "Boss… don't piss on my head."

The Genin shook his head and then pulled out his mission scroll with the background information on his new teammates. He'd read a few lines about the sensei and noted that he'd been given far more information than he'd ever had the first time around about one Hatake Kakashi.

The scroll had an explanation related to the formation of the team and most of the reasons for teaming three dissimilar mindsets under a Jounin known to be lax regarding many issues.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

_Team Seven _

_Hatake Kakashi: - Known by several names, most common "Copy-cat Nin" or "Mirror Ninja of Konoha" - Retired rank of ANBU, Active rank Jounin - Son of the White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo, who committed suicide when his son was young and newly promoted to Chunin (…ii…) - Received an implanted Sharingan eye (left) belonging to comrade Uchiha Obito during a mission to Rock Country, comrade KIA - Chronically tardy - Knows many valuable Jutsus_

_Uchiha Sasuke: Chakra levels mid to high, requires refinement - Potential future Sharingan wielder - Potential fire element affinity based on family history - Skilled in several forms of hand-to-hand arts, mixes a few together, strong in using leg Katas - Mid range and close range fighter - Weapon specialization, not known - Low book learned skills - Never took any optional courses - Personal belief that he's 'elite' among his peers, affects social interaction with said peers - Only survivor of clan massacre from the hands of older brother, Uchiha Itachi, who is currently a rogue ninja and in the Bingo Book lists_

_Haruno Sakura: Chakra levels low and requires refinement - High book learned skills - Low hand to hand skills - Weapon specialization, not known - Fighting range, unknown - Potentially Genjutsu specialist - Never took any optional courses - Entering puberty for females, easily distracted due emotional phase - Unknown potential for other ninja skills - Unknown interest for other ninja skills._

Naruto snorted, as some of his own stats were included in the mission scroll.

_Uzumaki Naruto: Very high Chakra levels, refinement ongoing - High probability for Elemental affinity, use and jutsu creation - Low book learned skills - Skilled in several forms of Taijutsu and other hand-to-hand combat - Range of attacks, situational, mostly close combat fighter - Exhibits elements of unknown Jutsu type not yet recorded - _

Naruto blinked at that line and then thought about the Chunin exam he'd taken in Suna. '_The girls must have mentioned the words I'd said when we were in that 'Treasure Room'. Damn, I'm going to have to be careful about that. No wonder the old fart asked about treasure from Suna._'

He paused and then looked up at the sloth monkey hanging from the tree above that had been watching over them ever since they'd arrived. There was a smaller more agile spider monkey curled on the belly of the hanging sloth.

'_Old man's got his summons out._' He noted. He waved at them and then continued to read.

_: ... Jutsu type not yet recorded - Weapon specialization in Wakizashi blade and Tanto blade, self-taught, recommend Kenjutsu training - Self-taught gymnastic forms - Skilled in watercolour and calligraphy, recommendation on file by Yuuhi Kurenai - Potential Fuuinjitsu skills, suspected, but not yet apparent_.

"Well that's quite a bit about me," Naruto muttered out loud and then the next paragraph was the all about the council's reasons to form the team.

_Team Seven created to pair Uchiha Sasuke for tutelage under only other known Sharingan user in Konoha. Genin Uzumaki is experienced in working with a Haruno family member, to assist in the training of Haruno Sakura when Jounin begins to instruct Sharingan student in more advanced skills. Instruction or training of Genin Haruno by Genin Uzumaki in only to be acted upon, when requested to do so by Jounin-sensei. Genin Uzumaki must try and ensure successful pass for Team Seven in hidden secondary Genin exam._

The Genin huffed, sighed and when assured that he'd read every mission parameter on the scroll, he tossed into the fire to get rid of it. It was evidence that he didn't need to keep it, just in case curious fingers found their way into his pack. Kakashi-sensei had been known to pull unprotected scrolls from unsuspecting packs as training against thieves. That's what he'd done in the past.

'_I wonder what he'd think about my sticky fingers lifting his precious Icha, Icha books_,' he chuckled. He made sure that no part of the mission scroll remained. He checked his traps and then crawled into the tent in the other sleeping bag next to the Hokage's grandson to sleep for a good portion of the night. He had a timed trap set to release a soft bang to wake him up early in the morning for his first set of morning exercises.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**BANG, BANG, BANG!**

"Wah," Konohamaru woke up from a deep sleep startled by the sound of the time released explosion tag that was set close to the tent, to wake up the kid. "What's going on?"

"Morning," Naruto said cheerfully. "It's time to get up. We have a lot to do and only three days to do it."

"What are you talking about," the kid said with a scowl.

"Put your shoes on," the Genin said. "There's a path that we're going to run on and you have to finish at least one circuit before we eat breakfast. Stretches first." Naruto stretched and had the boy do the same. "Follow the red tags on the trees," the blond told the kid.

The Genin paused as he ran in place to make sure that the boy was going to follow him. He paced the kid until he said, "I plan to run the circuit several times, so I will be passing you and testing you to see how long it takes you to do one lap. Understood?"

"Yes Boss," the kid said loudly, as though the louder he was the clearer he sounded. He noticed the blond just jogging next to him, until the Genin picked up his pace and forced the kid to run at a slightly faster speed.

"You stay at this speed until I catch up to you," Naruto said and then took off quite fast.

Konohamaru watched at how quickly the older boy disappeared, but the path was well tagged, so he did his best. He was winded and exhausted by the time he was three quarters of the way along the path. By this time his '_Boss_' had passed him nine times and was due to show up one more time.

"Hey kid," Naruto said jogging up to him and slowed down to match the boy's pace. "You've only a quarter of the path left to go."

"How...huh...how long," the kid asked curious about how long they'd been running. "We…huh…been…hah, huh…runnin?"

Naruto looked to the sky and said, "About an hour and fifteen minutes, why?"

"Curious," the kid said. "Never...ha...huh...ha...ran...that...huh...long before."

"That's expected," Naruto told him. "Save your breath for the last leg. We're going to slow it down a bit now." He paced the boy and soon nearing the end of the path they were walking normally back towards their camp. The Genin made the boy to more stretches and then they had to fish for their breakfast.

"WHAT," Konohamaru complained. "Why fish?"

"I didn't bring enough dried goods," Naruto said, as he handed the kid a pole with a line, hook with a wriggling worm attached. "Dried and tin goods are easy to store and should only be used in an emergency. When traveling, a Ninja must make use of the environment or of local stock and resources available. Since you want to be treated like a Ninja that's what we're doing."

"Oh man," the kid looked at the pole and pouted.

"You catch nothing, you eat nothing," Naruto said and left the boy to his thoughts. He sat down on a rock and proceeded to fish. He was aware of when the boy had made his decision because the kid had joined him. Soon they were both sitting cross-legged. They bopped the fishing line up and down to tease the fish into biting and eventually they had caught several kinds, two of which were thrown back.

"We can't eat those ones," the Genin explained. He moved away and handed the boy a kunai. The kid just stared at it and then realized that the blond was going to make him do everything. "Do what I do and watch your fingers," Naruto told him. He showed the boy how to clean the fish for eating. He showed him the thin green sticks that he'd already prepared. He explained where they came from and why they were called green sticks. They threaded the fish and cooked all of them after getting the fire going once more.

He explained a bit about camp cooking and then said, "We'll hunt for root vegetables, herbs and berries this afternoon. If we get enough to last us for a few days then we'll only need to fish for the rest of our time here."

The kid just followed him around. "What about water," the boy asked. "We'll need some to drink."

"See that barrel," Naruto pointed to a half barrel that he'd filled with clear waterfall water. It had a lid to prevent stuff from getting into it and there was a scoop for drinking, hanging from the side. "There's good water in there," he handed the boy an older canteen and said, "Use this while we're in the bushes."

The rest of their time there, Naruto, pushed the kid to the limits of the boy's small body. He made the kid run that path once in the morning and once before night, while he ran ten laps around the boy. Push-ups, sit-ups, squats, lunges were done in a repetitious format. The kid had to do twenty of each, while Naruto did hundreds.

Konohamaru was subjected to base Taijutsu training, climbing the trees and rocks to get to the top of the waterfall, the hard way and not with chakra. They did stretches that Naruto had invented based on Yoga and Tai-chi, base tumbling and cartwheels. The Genin made sure that the boy had time to ask his questions and get the answers about why to do things and how come, what for, how long, etc...

Packing up the camp on the last day was quick, efficient and the kid watched how Naruto used storage scrolls for most items. "Did it take a long time to buy your equipment," Konohamaru asked with curiosity. "Are missions cool?"

"It took a long time for me to buy most of my stuff," Naruto stated. "That's because I'm an orphan, so no one was going to pay for me. There's a base pay for Genin, which begins at two thousand Ryo. You get that on when you pass all of the Genin exams. Then there's mission pay that can be added to that, once your sensei feels that your team can start missions. As for missions being cool...well that depends on the mission."

"Oh," Konohamaru said, slightly deflated.

"To be a ninja of any village is to be the visible and hidden soldier of that village," Naruto continued, as he packed the last of the camp items away. They walked to the ledge where they needed to climb down. He pointed to a stump with holes in it and said, "Bathroom."

The kid nodded and once they were both done, the Genin once again made a climbing harness of rope for the boy. "D-Class missions are just as important as A-Class missions," the Genin continued their conversation. "The way we're going to go down will be easier. You'll repel down to the max length of the rope, jam this," he attached a kunai to a smaller length of rope at the boy's waist. "Into a crack in front of you and then I will climb down to meet you. Understood?"

"Yes, Boss," the kid said and gulped. He watched Naruto go over the edge and then brace himself before he guided the kid to begin his descent.

"D-Class missions are usually missions to help people in the village," the Genin continued his conversation. The boy was down and had wedged his anchor with a signal up to the blond. "The villagers know that Genin are mostly children, but most Ninjas are used for war, so the D-Class missions are to let the civilians know that the Genin are not only being used for war."

"What kinds of things are considered D-Class," Konohamaru eventually asked, after they'd traveled several hundred feet.

"Dog-walking, weeding, rock clearing, painting fences, painting houses, baby-sitting..." Naruto told him. "You know those kinds of things that usually take a long time to do, but you don't want to do it and you're willing to pay someone else to do it. The worst is finding that damn cat."

"What cat," Konohamaru asked.

"The Fire Lord's wife has a cat named Tora. It is about the most vicious thing you'd ever seen," Naruto told him. "But somehow I feel sorry for it because it's always running away from her."

"Why would it do that," the kid said with a sigh because he could see that they were getting close to the bottom.

"The Fire Lord's wife is too attentive to the cat," Naruto said. "Cats aren't like dogs. They don't like to be cuddled, petted or picked up all that often unless they tell you that they want you to do that."

They arrived at the bottom of the rock cliff safely. The rope harness was removed and since it was still morning, the Genin made them run and chose alternate longer path back to the village. He chose the longer route so that the boy would be exhausted by the time they returned in the afternoon. "Let's go, we're going to run at your pace."

Konohamaru started. He was slow in the beginning, but then picked up the pace until he was in his comfort zone from when ran the red-tagged route. He'd actually managed to run around the path once at a faster pace than normal and he'd almost been able to keep up with Naruto's second slowest pace. He'd been proud of that.

Hours later the Chunin guards chuckled as the blond Genin arrived at the gates carrying the Hokage's sleeping grandson on his back. They made their notations in their books and waved him on in. One of them had to be a smart ass and say, "You know that he's drooling don't you."

"Has been for the past fifteen minutes," Naruto commented. "You want him?"

The Chunin held up his hands and said, "No way. That Ebisu guy has been here everyday and nearly every hour since you left. Take that kid home yourself."

"Chicken," Naruto told them good-naturedly. He hopped to the rooftops, scaled the Hokage's building and knocked on the office belonging to the old man.

"Come in," Sarutobi said. He smiled when he saw who it was and held out his hands to lift the sleeping boy from the back of one of his favourite Genin. "Did it go well?"

"You already know how it went," Naruto said and pointed to the spider monkey that climbed in through the window. The old man shrugged. "I could write you a mission report," the blond continued grinning cheekily.

"Go on with you," the old cradled his sleeping grandson. "You have a meeting to keep the day after next."

"Hai, hai," the blond agreed and then with another grin he leapt for the window and hopped away from the tower.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

At an hour when most of the village was sleeping, a figure in a totally matte grey bodysuit and a strange cloak, climbed the Hokage's tower for one purpose. The future is a past story that had never been told, but some events were still predictable. He'd kept an eye on Mizuki-sensei ever since he'd graduated from that man's class. Therefore was never surprised when he detected movement throughout the tower from his sensei using one inch square tracking Fudas that he'd posted in obscure corners of the Hokage's building, the few times he'd been there.

The Fuda or Sutras only activated a '_Seeing Eye_' when that white-blond haired man's Chakra passed it. It was, in a sense, a third eye that Naruto used. It linked two of the same mark or design together and opened to look at the person or object with the same Chakra. He had to have a copy of that mark somewhere on his body to in order to be able to see through the other papers posted.

That's how he tracked that man's progress through the tower. He'd been waiting for the spy to take action and it looked like the man was ready to steal the Scroll of Sealing.

Naruto had managed to get there before the ninja spy. He'd been able to set up a couple of traps and trip wires that were obvious and couple that were not. '_Now let's see how skilled he truly is,_' the blond thought, from his concealed position behind the very effective camo-cloth cloak that he'd made with the help of his old teammate.

'_Good thing that this was finally finished in time for this event,_' he thought as he watched through goggled eyes how a supposedly Chunin level ninja came into the Hokage's office, disarmed the obvious traps and detected the not so obvious ones. The blond's eyes narrowed and he knew that he'd have to do something quick to capture that man in the act.

He had a camera in hand and with the highest flash level he quickly pulled it out. Luckily it was the type that the photos were produced immediately and that he just needed to pull them from the machine quickly. Several photos were taken. The man yelled his surprise and shock, which alerted the ANBU guards in the area. The pictures showed the area that the man had been aiming for and which files or scrolls he'd planned to get.

Naruto produced several Kage (shadow) Bushin (clones) and had them hold the man until he could be taken into custody. He'd even managed to slip in and hit the man a few times before leaving him a broken mass on the floor of the office.

The Hokage stepped into the room and noted the number photos that littered the floor and then looked at the ninja being picked up by the arms by his security ANBU. "Well," the old man said in a very serious tone. "It seems that this man needs to meet with our T&I Unit for a thorough debriefing."

"How," Mizuki said. "No one knew I was coming."

The old man looked in the corner of the room and nodded. "You can come out now," the old man said. "You're training has improved."

"Thank you Jiji," Naruto said and pulled the goggles off along with the hood and hair cover. "Thank you for giving me permission to test my Eye Fuda." The Genin clarified and had a disturbing looking eye in the middle of his forehead, but it was his actual presence that shocked his onetime sensei. He pulled the paper off his head and the eye on it closed. "They barely work, but I will improve them with time."

The old man held out his hand and looked at the paper. "I'll need a full report from you regarding tonight's activities, you may just get mission pay for this," he said. "About that cloak?"

"A gift from one of my old teammates," Naruto said. "Brilliant with textile materials, but unfortunately it takes quite a bit of chakra to keep the effect active." He stopped the chakra flow and the '_invisible camo_' feature disappeared to reveal a plain patchwork cloak of multiple colours.

"Interesting," the old man said. "Genin Uzumaki you are dismissed." Naruto bowed and moved to leave the room by the door, as was proper.

"Do you know why the whole town hates you," Mizuki called out in panicked desperation to the boy. "Get me free and I'll tell you."

Naruto walked over to the man and looked down. The guards lifted him up in a way that hurt the man's arms. "Trying to buy a way out traitor...spy..." the Genin said and blinked slowly showing the slit eyes of the fox with purple eyes slowly bleeding to red. He gave a very toothy, fanged grin and said. "I already know about the Fox, now you go have fun with the Interrogation Unit."

"Naruto," the old man sighed.

The blond looked back at the Hokage; the fox impression completely cleared from his features and said, "It's all right. I figured it out a while ago."

"If you ever want to know more," the old man offered.

"Thank you," the blond said suddenly choked up by the idea that the Hokage would actually tell him something. "I'd like to know more about my mother and father if you please, maybe over tea sometime in the future?"

The old man smiled and nodded. "You have a meeting that you can't miss in the morning. I'll expect that report as soon as you can write it."

"Yes sir," Naruto said. He saluted and left the room with a final kick to Mizuki's groin area, causing the traitor to pass out.

The old man sighed and said, "Take him to Morino Ibiki and his team. Find out what he was here for and why."

The guards dragged the body of the fainted Chunin, as the Hokage picked up a couple of the pictures that had been scattered over the floor. '_How did Naruto know about this,_' he thought. '_It's a good thing that he was here, though. But testing Fuda?_'

He looked down at the drawing on the paper and wondered just what that little bit of paper could do to improve how teams infiltrated or learned information.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(…i…) Bear Claws / Bear Paws – at this point it's made and not meant to reflect anything in relation to the actual ninja claws commonly seen in movies or other…

(…ii…) Name of Kakashi's father - http: / www dot leafninja dot com (you know what to do, remove the spaces and replace the dots). New sight found to Naruto data, which seems to be quite up to date, but could have errors, however it's inspiring to me.


	7. Chapter 7

**CH 7**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto woke up when his new alarm clock buzzed the time. This was his fifth one he had to get since he'd traveled back in time. Two went out the window and one died by kunai. The last one was lodged in the ceiling when he threw it in a violent punch upwards. He had to throw a kunai through it too, to get it to stop buzzing, since it had gotten stuck between the hidden beams. The kunai was still up there too, so the boy had moved his bed to another location of the room since he never wanted to stay too alert in his own place.

He got up, did his normal stretches and looked at the time on the wall clock in his tiny kitchen. He nodded to himself and continued with his morning routine; stretches without weights, push-ups, sit-ups, squats, and stretches with weights.

The weights were on for the rest of the day after that. Then he packed two water canteens and left in order to do his morning run around Konoha. He still had plenty of time since he'd been getting up at five every morning for the purpose of conditioning his younger body. The Chunin guards were used to his routine by now and they'd bet amongst each other how long it would take to boy to run around the village and whether he'd do it twice that day or not.

Today he'd chosen to run twice around in order to exhaust himself. That way he'd look slight pathetic to get under estimated by Sasuke and Sakura, although he strongly suspected that they'd still only believe that he was '_Dead-Last_' of the class. He wondered whether to attend their placement announcement and then recalled how the old man had wanted him present for that.

He sighed, already tired from the idea of being on Team Seven again. He returned to his apartment for breakfast, showered and dressed in the manner he'd been dressing since his Team Eleven had overhauled his wardrobe. He put on his skin-tight dark grey elbow length shirt and capry or longer than knee length pants. Over that he put on the sleeveless mottled brown and dark red patched jumpsuit. The pants portion fell to his knees.

Then he put his Konoha band around his neck, having preferred to wear thin ninja goggles on his forehead, as he'd always done. His wrist and ankle weights were the same dark grey colour as his under garments, not underwear because those were black and his regulation ninja footwear were the same dark red of his sleeveless jumpsuit.

The goggles were the best for detecting nin-wire, chakra string manipulations and in hiding his Gyo Jutsu technique. That technique was visible to others that had Kekkei Genkai that affected their eyes. He needed to maintain his Nen Jutsu techniques secret. It was on the advice of his last sensei, but he'd secretly checked his Ninja file and it seems that Tokuma-sensei had never reported a new technique being used. That's why his mission scroll on stated '_ Exhibits elements of unknown Jutsu type not yet recorded_'.

He looked at the time, but didn't bother the hurry. He took with him his drawing satchel and replaced the sketchbook he'd been using when he'd been with his old team. It wasn't full, but then he'd only wanted to add to it, if the people were his old teammates. He was looking forward to the day when he could draw, Risa bonded with a nin-dog, Akiko with an opened clothing shop and Tokuma-sensei with his knew team, whoever they may be.

Naruto strolled down the street and was followed by not one small person, but three. It seems that the kid had a couple of good friends that had been waiting for him to get back from an adventure a couple of days ago.

"Hiya Boss," Konohamaru said. "Are you busy, can I introduce my friends to you?"

"Did you do your exercises," the blond looked at the boy and grinned when the kid acted shifty. He rubbed the kid's head and said, "I didn't think you would. I don't have much time because I'm meeting my new team members today, but go ahead and introduce your friends. Maybe I'll have time later for better introductions." He knew that he'd have time later, if today happened just like it had in the past.

"Cool," Konohamaru said. Then he pointed at a cute and smiling girl with two orange-red tails high on her head. "This is Moegi and this is Udon, they're my best friends and are the members of my ninja team." Udon was a kid that sounded like he had a nasal problem, as evidenced by the unbreaking snot-bubble hanging from his nose.

"Nice to meet the both of you," Naruto said. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"Hi," the girl said shyly, but still with a smile on her face.

"Hello," the boy said with a slight wheeze and a wave of his hand.

"I do have to go, but I'll see you three later," Naruto said with a wave.

"See ya, Boss," Konohamaru said with a salute that the other two performed with him.

"He's kind of cool," Udon commented, as they walked towards the comic book store.

The Hokage's grandson, nodded and said, "I gotta tell you he works really hard everyday..."

Naruto grinned as their voices faded. '_Maybe I'll draw something of our adventure_,' he thought as he walked into the Ninja Academy. '_I think that the old man might like that..._'

He made his way to Iruka-sensei's room from memory and sure enough there was the man that had been one of the better influences in his past life. The man looked slightly frazzled because he'd found out that he was going to be overworked until a replacement could be found for Mizuki who'd been caught doing something against the Hokage and Konoha...although just what that was, hadn't trickled down the Ninja grapevine yet...

"Naruto," he called out in a tone happy to see the prankster. "What are you doing here?"

"My new team members are graduates of your class, Iruka-sensei," Naruto told him. "I was told report here at this time."

"I see," the man said. "Well then, just pick a seat. The Jounin-senseis should be arriving after the teams have been announced."

"Thank you," Naruto said. His feet carried him in the same direction as his past. He sat down and never once realized that some things never do change. He pulled out a charcoal pencil, his pad of paper and began to draw Iruka sensei at his desk.

Suddenly there was a commotion at the door, girls squealed, sighed and watched the shoving race between Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino. The girls arrived near him and had created shadows on his page. Naruto blandly said, "Could you guys go sit down or something, you're causing unneeded shadows in my drawing."

"Shut up Naruto," Sakura said in that tone that promised him pain, if he didn't get out of her way.

He looked up and noticed the gathered girls around the desk he'd been sitting at. "What the…" He wondered. He then looked forward, then blinked and looked to his left, saying, "Well, hell!"

Then, some inner sprite (probably fox shaped) with a head for pranks, fun, but whatever it was, goaded him into action. He hopped up onto the desk, crouched down, nearly nose-to-nose with none other than Uchiha Sasuke. This time instead of saying things in his mind he said them out loud.

"I don't know what's so great about you. You're broody, arrogant and think your better that everyone else, che... I still don't get it..." Suddenly he was nudged from behind and he overbalanced _again_, with the same results, _again_, and both boys were wide-eyed at the result.

'_What the hell..._' They both thought at the same time. _**CHUU!**_ (lip-smack or kiss)

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he watched the other boy, sputter and spit. However, he never overreacted to any of it like the last time. "You have a sweet tooth don't you," he said developing a slow grin. "Cause I definitely tasted sugar, what was that...sugar cane bonbon?"

"NAAA-RRUUU-TTTOOO!" Killing intent flared just then and even those that were nearly chakra null could sense it. Sakura was nearly blazing red with jealousy and anger.

"Oops," Naruto barely glanced at the mob of girls. Quicker than they could react he grabbed his things, sprung up, and flipped to land feet first on the ceiling of the room. He then sat down on cross-legged and upside down still up there. He ignored everyone and just continued drawing quietly right where he was. He was eternally grateful for having learnt extreme chakra control in order to be able to do this.

Sasuke blinked and looked around for the blond. He noticed that some of the students kept glancing up above him. When he looked up, he gaped at the sight of the blond boy sitting calmly on the ceiling as though it was something he did every day. He glared the boy, pissed at the thought that the '_Dobe_' of the class, knew how do something so cool that he hadn't learnt yet.

Then the Uchiha looked out the window, ignoring basically everyone else in the room in his irritation. He stayed that way hoping that the announcements would be over quickly. He couldn't wait until he could finally work as a Ninja and get the strength needed to defeat his older brother.

"All right everyone please, calm down," Iruka-sensei said. "You won't learn your placement unless everyone takes a seat." Soon all the students were seated and the man said, "Naruto, won't you come down."

"No thanks," the blond replied. "I already know who's supposed to be on my team. I'll just stay here until the room clears. I sense hostile intent down there and I'm not stupid enough to subject myself to that. I'd hurt the ones that attacked me."

Iruka only shrugged, since it made sense to stay out of an enemy's way and he was glad that no one would be hurt because of it. He called out all of the teams and cell numbers. The announcement of Team Seven had many in girls in the room groan, while only one squealed in twittering delight. The blond received a glare from the dark haired boy under him, while Naruto only dropped a pink round ball wrapped in plastic, from one of his pouches to tease the Uchiha about tasting like sugar.

Sasuke glared at the offending item. Then he glared up at the blond who only blew a pink bubble at him behind twinkling blue eyes. The bubble popped softly into a flat mess, before being sucked back into the offending mouth that had kissed him. Blow, pop, repeat...

There in the brunette's hands was a pink bubble-gum ball that called his name. He shrugged and ate it. He knew that his bubbles would be better and bigger than that idiot's anyway. The blond had been right anyway, it had been a small bit of sugarcane candy that had lingered. It had been his favourite candy from the time he was a kid.

Sakura had hoped that the boy of her dreams would offer the sweet to her. It was bad enough that the boy she hated had kissed the one that would be her future husband, but now that evil boy had gotten Sasuke to eat candy. He'd never accepted anything like that before from anyone since for some odd reason that no girl could figure out Sasuke was never seen on Valentine's Day.

'_I really hate Naruto_,' she thought, clenching her fist. '_When he gets down from there, I'll make him pay_.'

The other students placed in groups were eventually called for by their Jounin-sensei. Who all grinned when they saw the Genin on the ceiling. He'd received a surprisingly friendly greeting from Kurenai-sensei, who'd asked him what he was writing.

Naruto stood up on the ceiling and had walked over and down the wall to show her the drawing of Iruka-sensei. He'd even showed her the one of Konohamaru catching his first fish. The expression on the boy's face was kind of priceless. "I'm glad that you're still doing this," she'd told him. "Good luck with your new team, it looks like you'll need it."

"Thanks," the blond had replied before running to the ceiling to avoid the irate pink-haired Kunoichi. Sakura had seen an opportunity, but the blond was just too fast and had managed to escape to the ceiling once more.

The class was soon empty except for three Genin, who were waiting… and waiting… and waiting...and...

Naruto was tired of being on the ceiling and having noted that there was more room for self-defence because there wasn't so many people in the room anymore. He chose to get down. He put away his drawing pad and pencil. Stretched his arms, did a handstand on the ceiling and then he released the chakra that held him there. He dropped lightly onto the desk without making a sound.

Sakura dozed at one of the desks and Sasuke slowly made his way silently to the blond, who just looked at him wondering what the other boy wanted.

Sasuke frowned and waited for the exploding questions, when he noticed what the other boy was wearing. "Why are you wearing that, run out orange?"

"Better camouflage," Naruto said. "What's wrong with it?"

"You're an established Genin," Sasuke stated.

"Yep," Naruto replied, fingering his Hitai-ate. "I've been one nearly two years, what's wrong with that?"

"You should never have been able to pass," Sasuke told him. The words, '_ahead of me_', were unspoken.

"Why," Naruto returned. "Because you think you know more than I do? No, wait...Is this attitude because you're an Uchiha and they should have treated at special? Or is it because they wouldn't let you take the exams early?"

The brunette boy's face flushed with anger.

"Do you think that you'd have fit in with older students that had already been at the Academy longer than you," Naruto asked. "Do you think that you'd have wanted to follow their orders or that of the sensei you'd have been assigned?"

"No, of course not," Sasuke replied immediately. Naruto waved his hand in a '_there you go, here's your answer_,' kind of way. The brunette's eyes bugged out at the thought of that. "No way, there's no way that they'd hold someone back for something like that."

"Sure they would," Naruto told him. "That's why they'd need to place you on a team with people that didn't care about who you are or care how important you think you are." Sasuke snorted and then looked in the direction of the dreaming Kunoichi. "Well, two out of three ain't bad."

"Two?"

"I don't care about you," Naruto replied honestly. "I more than suspect that our new sensei won't either, so that's two..."

"Bad numbers," Sasuke commented with pout.

"Don't try to look cute," Naruto said. "It doesn't work for you." He lifted his head to face the door while flicking a small stone to clang against Sakura's headband to wake the girl up.

Sasuke pursed his lips to prevent a chuckle from escaping at the sight of the girl's sleep puffed face. He'd been surprised that the blond would take such an action and then watched as the boy focussed on the door of the room. "Why…"

Naruto held up his hand and the pointed at the door and told him so softly that the other boy almost missed it, "And…now…"

The door slid open and a grey-haired one-eyed Jounin peered into the room. "Yo," the man said. The blond sighed. "Meet me on the roof."

Naruto turned to Sasuke and said, "Race." He took off at a speed that surprised the Uchiha, who'd barely registered the word and followed a cloud of dust up the stairs. Sakura only whined, "Wait for me," but was left to run and catch up to her new sensei and the rest of her team.

"I win," the blond told the other boy.

"You cheated," Sasuke told him with a frown because he'd lost.

"Nope, I won 'cause I'm faster," Naruto said doing a fancy back flip and ending in a pretend finishing pose of animé-like triumph and snooty superiority.

All of which he immediately dropped to block and defend himself from the attack of the outraged Kunoichi who was still upset about the kiss that happened in the class room. The last Uchiha and their sensei watched as the blond put the girl down with three quick Taijutsu moves that nearly knocked her out.

"Sakura stop being a bitch," Naruto said, as he sat on her back to show that he'd won and to bop her on the head like she used to do to him. "We're supposed a Genin team now, not attack each other…um, unless sensei tells to."

"Bu..but… you," Sakura looked at him like she'd never seen him before after he'd let her stand up again.

"Hm, the past is the past," Naruto glanced at her. "I'll not let you strike me because you're pissed off that things didn't go your way."

"Let me?" She shrieked, not knowing what he was talking about.

"Sure," Naruto told her. "I let you do it in the feint hopes that you'd eventually realize that it's wrong to do that, but no more."

"Children that's enough," their new sensei told them. "Now it's time to get to know one another."

"What do you mean, sensei," Sakura said, trying to suck up in a way that said she was a good girl, like she normally did with other adults around.

"Mah," the man said. "You know things about your likes, dislikes, dreams of the future, that kind of thing."

Naruto snorted and then asked, "Why don't you show us how that done?"

"Good point," the sensei said. "I'm Hatake Kakashi, call me Kakashi-sensei. I like many things, dislike few things and my dreams…are not really your concern, now what about you Blondie."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," the blond said as though he needed to think about it. "I like... many things, dislike…very few things and my dream…well that one's easy, one day I will be the Hokage of this village."

"I see," Kakashi-sensei said. "You," he pointed to the squirmy Kunoichi.

"I'm Haruno Sakura," the girl said. "I like…tee hee," a quick blushing glance at the brunette boy next to her. "My dreams of the future…EEEE," she squealed with another glance at the same boy.

Kakashi-sensei rolled his eyes upwards, an action that caused the blond boy to snicker, but the man only asked, "Dislikes."

"Naruto," she declared with certainty.

"Oh great," Naruto told her. "How's that going to work for our team?"

"If you leave it will get better," she said sticking her tongue out at him.

"If I leave, you and your precious future dream will get recycled back into the Academy and lose that Hitai-ate you're so proud because you fail," Naruto declared.

"Leave him alone," Sasuke said to the girl, not wanting to go back to slow class learning because the girl didn't like the blond boy.

"What about you Romeo," Kakashi-sensei said, indicating that the Uchiha needed to answer the same questions that they did.

"There's not much that I like, so everything else doesn't matter and in the future there's someone I must kill," Sasuke said.

"All right then," Kakashi-sensei said. "We meet at the monument tomorrow morning at seven for survival training. Don't eat breakfast, dismissed."

Naruto shook his head, hopped to the next roof over thinking, '_Boy that man never changes. I have a mission report to write up and a couple of ninja to meet outside of the village._'

Sasuke had escaped as soon as they were dismissed and avoided the girl's poor attempts at getting him to do something with her.

Sakura had been left behind to sputter at nothing and finally walked home with her shoulders slumped and a whiny, "Oh, Sasuke."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The next day the three of them were waiting for their sensei to show up.

Naruto knew that the man was going to be late, but he still showed up on time, like he was supposed to. He hopped up onto one of the unlinked fence posts and began a series of exercises that had Sakura wondering about the boy's sanity. He was currently up on one hand doing push ups and after fifty he'd switch hands.

"Why are you doing that," Sakura finally asked.

"Shinobi are the soldiers of the village," Naruto quoted by rote. "If you have time to wait you have time to practice, study or exercise."

Then he straightened his body with legs pointed straight up that showed perfect balance. He put both hands on the post and then with straight he did a perfect side-to-side split with his legs. Down, up, down, up, he brought them together and then down into that perfect split about fifty times. Then in that split position, he bent his arms and did a push-up, after his arms were up he lifted his legs straight up for about three seconds and then let them fall back into the split, before doing the next push-up.

Sasuke stared open mouthed at the level of concentration that Naruto had. The number of exercises configured to be done on that one post caused him twitch. He wanted to do the same, but his balance wasn't good enough yet for that.

'_Even my own legs need to be stretched before doing anything remotely close to that,_' he thought. '_How long has he been doing these kinds of exercises?_' His eyes widened again as the blond now curled his body down and moved as though to sit on the post, only to uncurl back into the split position and then up to a straight line.

Naruto did this a few times until he noticed that his new sensei's chakra headed in their direction. He finished his up movement and then curled down one last time, to finish by sitting on the post top and looked utterly bored by the time the Jounin arrived.

Sakura fumed at how the blond just grabbed Sasuke's attention. Every time she'd moved in the brunette's direction, the blond changed his routine and that kept their teammate's attention not on her, where she believed it should have been.

"Yo," Kakashi-sensei showed up holding two bento boxes, an alarm clock and two bells. "I thought about everything that you guys told me and I must say, none of it impressed me. So your official Genin exam begins now. You must get these bells away from me. The one without a bell fails, gets tied to a post and doesn't eat lunch."

"Wait," Sakura's attention riveted to the fact that this was an official exam. "What happens if we fail?"

"You get recycled back into the Ninja Academy," Kakashi-sensei said. "You have two hours to get the bells from me, starting now." He poofed away and disappeared from their combined sight.

The three Genin hopped quickly into hiding places, with the exception of Naruto. He just switched with one of the ten Kage Bushin that had been dispersed before he'd even arrived at the location. This was to ensure that their chakra signatures were completely hidden by the surrounding environment before their sensei had arrived.

He had that one follow up on the bell by the trap and let the sensei give his lecture about, '_If a trap seems obvious, then it's obviously a trap_.' The man had out a smut-book and was reading it to irritate those that were fighting to be his Genin.

Sasuke decided to try on his own. He used speed, Taijutsu and had actually forced the man to put away his Icha Icha Paradise book, in order to stay alert against the attack. However the sensei tricked him by burrowing under ground and then pulled the boy so that he was stuck there with just his head protruding.

Kakashi-sensei had a much easier time against Sakura, as she'd easily been trapped in a Genjutsu with a bleeding Sasuke image floating in her mind. This image caused her to pass out.

Kakashi-sensei then thought, '_No dice with these three, how disappointing._' He then seemed to have forgotten about one of the team members who hadn't been quite that immobile. After he buried the dark haired Uchiha brat, reached into his pouch seeking his beloved book and noted that it wasn't there anymore. "What the…"

"Hm, this looks interesting," Naruto said, leaning up against the tree. He'd opened the book to the last chapter and said, "Chapter twenty-nine, Kuro leaned against the wall crowding Aurora…"

"What are you doing," Kakashi-sensei asked in shock, no student had ever managed to successfully lift anything from his pockets during a test like this one. "I haven't read up to there yet."

"Aurora whispered her answer to his question, as she slid her fingers," Naruto moved out of the way of the hand that grabbed at the book.

One of the Bushin appeared in Sexy Jutsu form and looked nothing like Naruto. She grabbed the sensei's arm and leaned against Kakashi. She said, "Yes Kuro, just like that, show me that..."

"AAAHHHH," Kakashi-sensei yelled, covered his ears and closed his eyes. "Don't tell me… Don't tell me…" Unexpectedly he felt surrounded by Naruto's chakra and felt several strikes. He opened his eyes to five Narutos that had just attacked him. He defended, destroying them, but walked into a wire mesh net that closed in on him. He switched out with a log just in time before being garroted or de-limbed.

The alarm clock rang in the distance to indicate that the time was up for this pitiful Genin team. Naruto's remaining Bushin disappeared. The blond then did his regular Sexy Jutsu and tied the two bells to his pigtails. He raced back to the post he'd been using to exercise and sat upon in the in the lotus position. He looked completely serene, despite the fact that he was not a girl.

Kakashi-sensei didn't notice that his bells weren't there as he helped to free the Uchiha from the pit he'd been sucked into.

Sakura woke up from her second fainting spell to cling to Sasuke, who shook off her attention, saying, "Don't touch me." They neared the area with the alarm clock and noted that the bentos were still untouched by anyone.

The three entered the area and were stunned that there was an older looking girl that looked an awful lot like Naruto, sitting on a post in the lotus position with perfect balance.

"Where's Naruto," Sakura asked and looked around for the one she considered a total fool and failure.

Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke both knew that the girl was Naruto, who answered the Kunoichi. "Hi guys," Naruto-girl said in a tone that made the man and boy perk up and then they both blushed because it was an unwanted reaction. "About time you got back, I've been waiting for you."

"Naruto," Sakura gasped. The blond girl nodded her head and that's when they noticed the bells in her hair because they tinkled a simple sound. "When did you get the bells and why didn't you tell us about it?"

"A while ago, around the same time when I lifted this," Naruto-girl held up the orange covered pervy book, balancing it on one of its corners, on the tip of one of her index fingers. "This one's not one of the better novels," she said and tossed it back to Kakashi-sensei, who pocketed it immediately. Naruto-girl pulled the bells from her hair and dissipated the Jutsu reverting back to a boy still seated in the lotus position. He dangled the bells together and looked at the sensei with a meaningful look.

"Ah," the man said and ten minutes later, Sasuke and Sakura were tied to the posts on either side of the seated Naruto.

"What the Hell," Sasuke complained.

"Why," Sakura cried.

"I did say that the one who didn't get the bells would be tied to the post," Kakashi-sensei stated. "Naruto has both which means that the two Genin who didn't get the bells get tied to the posts. Now I'll evaluate your skills and the actions you all displayed." He glared at all of them, but the blond boy just ignored his theatrics by cleaning an ear with his pinky finger and a full open mouthed yawn that showed sharp pointy teeth.

"You all fail," Kakashi-sensei told them. Then he turned to Sasuke and said. "You tried to do everything by yourself. You didn't even think to ask for help from your teammates. Sakura, you were only concerned with Sasuke and he is your weakness, you'd didn't even help Naruto when he was stuck in the trap. Naruto, you… you…do you even know the purpose of this exercise?"

"I know, I know," Naruto said. "I could have approached either of them to formulate a plan of attack against you, as a team of three should be doing. However neither of them would have listened to me because they still only see what they want to see. They don't want to see that I could take them both down without trouble based on their weak cooperative skills." He barely glanced at their outraged looks in his direction. "Sakura couldn't even pose a decent challenge right now because of her lack of physical training and Sasuke would be easy to defeat because of his repetitive attack formations."

"Hm," Kakashi-sensei noised. "At least you thought about working like a team, so only based on that, I'll be giving the three of you one more chance. Naruto you've earned the bentos, don't even think of sharing them or untying these two, now give me the bells."

"Nope," Naruto said. "You'll have to take them from me, um… at a later date though." He'd moved too fast and put them away in a scroll before the man had barely seen the movement. He grinned at the sensei's confused expression.

"I'll be back in an hour," Kakashi-sensei told them. "Don't disobey me, Naruto."

"Hai, hai," the blond agreed with a wave. He waited until the man had completely disappeared from the sight of his two tied up teammates. He then stole a kunai from each of their leg pouches.

Sakura tried to kick him and screamed, "What do you think you're doing you little perv?"

Sasuke just watched and waited to see what the blond would do. To both their surprise their own kunai was planted in such a way as to cut the rope that had tied them up. It wouldn't do the job immediately, but with a bit of work they could get free on their own.

"Situational exercise: Pretend that the two of you are on a mission," Naruto told them. "The enemy has captured you and I could only send a kunai from that angle to help the two of you get loose. You need to make the minimum amount of movement to get free before they discover that you're not alone because guards are in the room with you. Do it now."

The two blinked, thought about it and then they were both out of their bindings too quick or noticeably to succeed in the pretend mission.

"Sakura you moved too fast, so you die," Naruto said. "Probably slowly and raped after they recaptured you. While Sasuke moved with some care, you would still have been detected. You'd probably have died, while using your Grand Fireball, but at least you would have destroyed a larger number of the enemy than her. All of which means both of you have just left me stuck bringing your bodies back from the failed mission." He then tossed them the bentos that Kakashi-sensei had brought and pulled out the one he'd packed from home.

"Why did you pack a bento," Sakura asked.

"Why starve," Naruto returned. "Missions can last an hour or all day. Do you think that Kakashi-sensei will be feeding you during the time we're going to be doing missions?" He paused and the said, "That is if he'll still give us a chance. Anyway always bring your own food and drink when accepting a mission, that way you aren't subjected to local water sources, if they're not reliable. It also means that your food won't be poisoned by some looking to harm you, just because they hate ninja."

"What do you mean," Sasuke asked. "About the local waters sources?"

"You really don't want what is euphemistically called, '_Gut Rot_', or '_Swamp Gut_' do you?" He asked them, turning their thoughts to the information they should have remembered from their classes at the Academy.

They were about half way through their lunch when clouds suddenly rolled in, thunder crashed and their sensei appeared and looked like he was about to hunt them down to kill them. "You…you…," he roared in anger. Then he stopped his dramatics and with a closed eye smile he told them. "You pass."

"What," Sakura said. "How?"

"A team works together," Kakashi-sensei said. "_Those who don't follow the rules and regulations are trash, but those who don't care about their companions are worse than trash!_" He looked at all of them and said, "Naruto tried to point out that in a mission situation and one where he'd do his best to free you, that you'd need to ensure that your movements are not detected. He was also right and that you both would have died if you'd have moved that quickly to free yourselves from bonds like that. But as of today you three are now officially Team Seven. So go home and we officially begin tomorrow. Meet me at the bridge at seven am." He walked away leaving them to their own devices and vowed to finish that book as soon as possible to see if the irritating blond had been right about the few paragraphs in it.

Sasuke slowly finished his meal and the turned to look at Naruto, who'd just finished his own lunch and had put away his containers. He motioned the blond to follow him without alerting their female teammate. When they were far enough away he asked, "How come you do those exercises?"

Naruto grinned and said, "It's so that I can get into tight places without being caught while I still can."

"What do you mean," Sasuke asked. "While you still can?"

"My body is small right now," Naruto told him pointedly looking up to indicate that he was still an inch or two shorter than the dark haired boy. "I could effectively change my diet to stunt my growth if I wanted to, but I don't want to do that. However I will do what I can to stay limber enough to crawl through tight spots, as much as I can." The other boy looked at him confused. "All right let's go to your compound and I'll show you what I mean."

"Why my compound," Sasuke asked. "No one's there."

"Exactly," Naruto said. "No one will challenge us or question us about what we're doing, so let's go." He suddenly stopped and asked, "Wait, do you have a pair of goggles like these?"

"No," Sasuke said, offended that he'd need such dorky things.

"Follow me then," Naruto said. "I'm sure Akiko will lend hers to you. You'll need them to see properly."

Sasuke just followed the blond to a house. He watched as a nice looking girl limped up to the blond, hug his teammate and then hand him the same type of goggles that were situated on the boy's forehead.

"This is Uchiha Sasuke," Naruto introduced him to the girl. The black haired boy just bowed. "He's on Team Seven with me and Sakura. Sasuke, this is Haruno Akiko, one of my favourite Team Eleven members."

"Hello," Sasuke said confused about why this girl seemed so nice.

"Oh man, you got Sakura," Akiko said. "I pity the two of you. If you want me to beat her up just tell me. I'll even do it for free."

"That won't be necessary," Naruto told her with a grin. "I'll drop these by later."

"Now that you're on a team are you going to need your blades," she asked.

"Not yet," Naruto said with a grimace. "We're a new formed team and that means…"

"D-Class missions," she finished for him with a teasing groan. "I'd warn him about Tora before you have to hunt her down."

"I might and then I might now," Naruto said. "Ja ne."

"Ja," she said and waved at both of them.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The two boys ran to the Uchiha compound and Sasuke watched as Naruto selected one of the smaller houses after asking him if he could set up a net trap inside it. "Sure," Sasuke said. "How long will that take?"

"Not long," Naruto said. "Give me a few minutes."

He stepped into the dusty building. It was empty of furniture, but there was a super tiny window in one of the rooms, so that's where he set up the wire with a few bells hanging to make sound if he hit the wires. He set them up in a base net configuration, but he did randomly toss a few lines to add to the effect. As soon as he was done, he left the room and house to go find Sasuke. He didn't have to go far as the boy was leaning against the house's doorframe.

"So who's Tora," Sasuke asked.

"Oh man," Naruto said with a grin. "She's a D-Class mission. Do you really want to know?"

"Who's she," Sasuke persisted, thinking that it was a girl.

"She's a cat not a person," Naruto told him. "Actually she's the Fire Lord's wife's beloved cat. That thing likes to run away a lot too. So that mission comes up often and its D-Class rated." He looked at how the other boy deflated at the thought of an actual mission was actually to locate a lost cat.

"I'm ready," the blond asked.

"What are these for," Sasuke asked holding up the goggles.

Naruto rolled his eyes and said, "So you can see the nin-wire I set up in one of the rooms. Come on and watch. You wanted to know why I do those exercises. Do you still want to know?"

"Yes," Sasuke said putting on the goggles reluctantly.

"Turn the right lens to red and the left to blue," Naruto told him. "If you ever manage to activate your Sharingan, you won't need the goggles." He paused and then looked at the other boy. "Maybe you should hide the fact that you're an Uchiha and never let anyone know if you've activated it or not. You'd be in trouble, if ever we get a mission outside of town."

"What the hell for," Sasuke said, having adjusted the lens and gestured the blond to lead the way. He paused in the doorway of with the nin-wire set up. There was only a small window to escape from.

"Think about it," Naruto said, after he'd removed his jumpsuit and most of his equipment and tucked them inside a scroll. Then he placed the scroll in the single pouch at his back on the belt he wore.

He flexed his fingers and toes and then began to navigate the wire while the Uchiha looked on open mouthed and near breathless at the flexibility that the blond boy was showing him. He swept his legs up and down. He crawled so low that it looked like he was about to brush the wire, but was always short of activating the bells that were hung on it. The blond jump up and suddenly he was on the ledge of that very tiny window and in a move that only contortionists could pull off the blond avoided that last strategically placed wire and was out of the room.

Naruto climbed up on the roof, raced over it and came back through the main door to meet up with his new teammate. He put his jumpsuit and ninja sandals back on. He returned to the room where Sasuke was still standing in the doorway and gaping at the fact that none of the bells had rung.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto called out. "I'm already out of the room."

Sasuke slowly turned back to the other boy on his team and then he removed the goggles, giving them back to the blond. "Here," he said. "I didn't think anyone could do anything like that."

"I won't be able to much longer," Naruto said. "I've grown about two inches since made Genin. I don't know how much more I'll be growing over the next few years, but you can bet that being flexible will still be a bonus against some opponents."

"How'd you find out about those," Sasuke pointed to the goggles.

"Chance," Naruto told him. "I notice that most Ninja have a pair of glasses of some form, like sunglasses and stuff. Glasses are sold in nearly every store that sells Ninja equipment, so by curiosity I picked up these," he pointed to his goggles. "I put them on and then flipped through the lens options and found that I could see quite a bit more than the average human eye."

"Oh," Sasuke said. "Why should I hide the fact that I'm an Uchiha?"

"Hm," Naruto noised, knowing that the boy never thought about why he should think to hide his clan or that he might be a Sharingan user. "How old are you?"

"You know the answer," Sasuke glared.

"Say it," Naruto said.

"Twelve," the boy answered.

"How old do you have to be to breed," Naruto asked.

Sasuke blinked at the question and glared at the blond.

"Who's likely to be targeted on our team," Naruto asked. "I mean if someone is interested in breeding with someone known to have a rare Kekkei Genkai... say perhaps of the type that's known to have been massacred and there's only one left?" The blond looked outside and said, "Just think about it. I have to go now. See you tomorrow at seven am."

'_Honestly,_' Naruto thought. '_The first time around we were lucky that no one came after him because he's known as the last Uchiha with the potential for Sharingan activation._'

Sasuke watched, as the blond boy zipped away, hopping on the rooftops like most other Ninjas do. He'd never once thought about the possibilities of what might happen to him, if he was stolen during a mission. '_Would my team come after me to rescue me_,' he thought. '_If the situation was reversed would I go after them to get them back?_'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**


	8. Chapter 8

**CH 8**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Sasuke was lying on his bed with his hands behind his head, thinking about the D-Class missions that they'd been doing recently. '_That little blond idiot was right,_' he thought. '_I didn't want to know about Tora. Stupid cat! What a pain! Sakura's attitude bothers me. She's doesn't listen, tries to make Naruto look bad by arguing with him all the time and is so weak that it feels like we're going to be doing twice the amount of work because of lack of effort.'_

He rolled over and still tried to figure out how come the blond was never winded in anything that he'd been doing with the team. Suddenly his eyes opened and he wanted to kick himself. "That bastard," he said out loud. "The little rat bastard!"

'_He's been a Genin for more than two years, so of course he'd be better trained or disciplined. That little shit. He was taught. Why isn't Kakashi-sensei teaching us any of the things that Naruto knows…_' He sighed because of his confused thoughts.

He rolled over to look out of his bedroom window. He thought about all of the times, that Naruto displayed above normal skills and that's when he sat up in his bed realizing, "Kakashi-sensei doesn't know!"

He flopped back down and looked out the window again, thinking. '_If Kakashi-sensei's not interested in teaching us, I wonder if Naruto'd tell me some of his tricks or maybe help to figure out a training routine that would suit me. A second opinion would be nice in this case._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Sakura tried to fall asleep. She usually hugged her pillow imagining that it was her beloved Sasuke, but this time she could only picture him saying, "Let go of me." The expression he'd had wasn't all that loving, but scornful and one that said, '_You're completely useless_.'

'_It's the fault of that Naruto,_' she began to think, but then she'd remember that it wasn't Naruto that slowed them down, it was her. Too slow, don't know enough hand-to-hand and still dieting, which weakened her even more. '_What can I do, I need to change, but what…Akiko was Genin before her accident. Maybe she'd be willing to give me a few pointers…I should go to see her soon…_' Eventually she managed to drift off with an idea to improve and that eased her mind some.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto just continued his normal physical routines. None of his teammates, including his Jounin-sensei, were aware of just how much he knew and what he'd been learning on his own. His runs around the outside of Konoha had allowed him to meet up with certain people that he'd met during his C-Class missions with Team Eleven. Those people were working a special project for him, but soon he was about to break into something quite big that would help a few missing nins in the very near future and deal with that Gato guy.

Also he wasn't ready to activate his elements yet, but he was doing just fine in configuring his Nen Jutsu to his needs. Thankfully he'd fully realized that he'd been spied on, by the Hokage, for a while and therefore he'd found another place to practice his unconventional Jutsu. He was close to starting '_Hatsu_', which was the final step before the full first stage of learning Nen Jutsu was done.

'_Ten,_' he thought and opened all his inner aura or chakra points. He then formed it into a barrier, forcing the energy to remain contained within him as he increased its emanation or '_inflammation_' out put. The more he could control it in that state the more he had access to without worry of chakra exhaustion. He'd mastered this technique quickly because he'd been used to doing it in the past with his aged body. His younger body was more open to new ideas though and learnt this at a faster rate.

'_Ren_,' he thought, bringing up the next step in the Nen Jutsu. He relaxed the barrier and opened his chakra to flare and become slightly visible. In doing this quickly and going between the Ren and Ten techniques he was able to maintain his control for longer periods of time. Also doing in this increased his awareness of just how much he had access to.

He practiced these two techniques, but was fully aware that the time frame between Ren and Ten needed to be narrower because of his daily use of chakra in the normal Ninja activities, like climbing trees or adding power to his Taijutsu forms. Although adding chakra to his attacks was also a form of Nen Jutsu and he was being careful because he didn't the others to try the same without having learned chakra control like he'd done. There was also the possibility that they could learn some of the base Nen Jutsu techniques because that particular technique had been absorbed into the everyday training that the Ninja Arts required.

'_That's something to think about when I'm retired again_,' he thought. '_Now for the next step._' He activated the '_Gyo_' that he'd been using for a long time.

He smiled when he remembered the last time Team Eleven had met during one of his breaks from Team Seven. His old team had chosen to go camping in one of the parks outside of Konoha in order to examine the '_Treasures_' that they'd brought back from the Buried Palace in Sand Country.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**Flash Back**

"Why are we camping out again," Akiko complained mildly, only joking with her old teammates. "It has been a while for me."

"We don't want to be spied on," Naruto told her. "Someone added the fact that we were permitted to extract treasure from the Buried Palace into their reports and the old man asked me about it."

"That was me," Tokuma-sensei told them. "I had to report that because Team Six's sensei would have done the same and did. Although I don't know why the Hokage thinks you took anything out of the Palace. You'd have told me..." He looked at their faces and knew then that they didn't tell him about what they may have taken from the Palace. "You three didn't…"

"Honestly," Risa said shifting in her seat. "We don't know what we got, so technically we didn't get anything that could be considered '_Treasure_', now did we. Besides he could have been asking because we'd been on the team that had come out of there severely injured compared to all others."

Tokuma pinched his mouth to stop the chuckle that wanted to escape, but it was too late because he smiled at them and then laughed with them. "All right," he said. "Show me what it is."

Naruto pulled out the four small storage scrolls that contained a pot of something in each. "These are only pots," he told his old sensei. "I saw that they had auras or chakra emanations coming from them."

"I collected them into these scrolls separately," Risa continued because she'd been the one to get them. "We didn't know if they were dangerous or not and we didn't know what they would or wouldn't contain. Naruto only saw that these had chakra around them and probably thought they'd be the more valuable ones."

"They could also be traps that are chakra based," Akiko told the man. "So we didn't want them all in the same scroll in case one was destructive. We were hoping to get your aid in revealing what's inside them and maybe in figuring out how to disarm the traps or…"

Tokuma nodded. Some of his colleagues had had missions of that nature. Sometimes they succeeded and sometimes they came back with interesting stories about traps that they couldn't disable. There were some that never came back from some of those missions because they'd been able to take successfully disable some of the traps, but at an extreme cost, usually their own lives.

"All right," the man said looking at the scrolls. "Let's analyze the area you found these in and since you were able to remove the items there's a chance that whatever those pots contain, could actually be of use."

"Yeah," Naruto said. "Unless it's one of those things that just absorbed the makers emotions and chakra emanations as he created the pots. They could just be plain old pots with nothing in them, but looked valuable because of the creator who made them because the cared."

"He does have a point," Risa said.

Akiko asked, "Is there a way to check for that?"

Tokuma thought about and nodded slowly. "There is, but unfortunately you'll have to release them from the scrolls." He paused and then asked, "Naruto did you bring your old tent?"

"Yep," the blond replied. "You never when you'd need an extra bit of cover."

"Do you mind sacrificing it for this," his old sensei asked.

"Not at all," the blond said and took out his old tent. There was nothing wrong with it, but it was getting worn down and sometime the damp just didn't stay out of the thing. "Do you want me to paint some sigils on it? You know for protection or something."

"Good idea," Tokuma told him. He pulled out a couple of scrolls and said, "In these there are a couple of power words that will help, but since you've the instinct for Fujin Jutsu, I'll let you select which ones to place where on your old tent."

"Okay," Naruto said and took a look at the words and meanings. There were a few that he could combine into a protective seal for the tent. The girls had added explanations for a few that the blond didn't think to choose.

He took out his ink, brush and old tent. He'd decided not to put up the tent until it had been marked in such a way that it was turned into almost a bomb shelter or bomb containment unit. Then he erected the tent and in doing so the seal on it was activated and looked to be waiting for more instruction.

"Do I pull out all four vases in there?" He asked them for their opinion in this matter because it was something that they had to do as a team.

"I wouldn't," Akiko said. "But…"

"I know," Naruto replied.

"The first one could ruin your tent and then we wouldn't be able to check out the rest without sacrificing the rest of our tents," Risa said. "Pull out all four. That's how we carried them out of the Palace."

Hyuga Tokuma only indicated that the decision was theirs to make. "I will recommend that Naruto be the one to release them, as he's still the fastest of all of us."

The girls nodded and then turned to look at the blond boy that was currently removing his over outfit. "You're going to need a new under suit," Akiko said. "Tell you what? I'll reduce the price for making you a new one, if you bring me any clothing that no longer fits you. I can overhaul almost anything and then we can give them to the orphanage or town's clothing bin."

"Deal," Naruto said. "I know that I'm going to need a new jumpsuit too and soon. The shoulders on this one are tight now and it's beginning to restrict my movements."

"I'm going to need some new threads too," Risa said. Her old teammates looked at her. She blushed and said, "I think that I'm close to bonding with a nin-dog. He comes from a new batch that's close to being weaned."

"How can you tell," Akiko asked.

"Sometimes we can just sense when one of them is compatible," Risa said pointing to her head and then her heart. "There's something that resonates in these areas."

"I'm ready to go," Naruto said.

"Remove your weights," Tokuma advised.

"Right," the blond said, dropping his wrist and ankle weights. He then put on a pair of ankle cuffs with rings and rope attached. "That's so you guys can pull me out fast when I tell you to." The two girls held onto right rope attached to his right ankle and his old sensei did the same for the one on his left ankle.

Naruto took off his goggles because he wanted to see everything naturally and not through glass. His Nen Jutsu technique was strong enough now that he could shield himself better than before they'd left for the Chunin exams.

"Here I go," he said. He got down on all fours and crawled into the small tent. He pulled out the four small scrolls and released their contents simultaneously. There in front of him were the same four pots that looked like they imitated all others that they had seen from the chamber, but only these had very visible auras.

"They're out of the scrolls now," Naruto said giving them a slight commentary of what he was doing. "Do you want me to break them or spill their contents?"

"Do whatever you think you should do," Risa said. "I do know that one of the pots has a cover on it, but I couldn't tell if it was plugged or not."

"It's plugged," Naruto told her after he checked out. "I'll save that one for last. I'm going to check one of the others now."

He pulled one towards him and felt the outside of the jar. There were no seems or hinges that his sensitive fingers could detect. He peered into it and could barely make out something glittering at the bottom of the pot. He turned it over and out came a necklace of unknown marbled looking stones in various muted colours. The stones were glowing, but the centre piece had the largest emanation and looked to have been composed of three other stones. He put it and the jar aside.

"The first is done," he told them. He repeated the process with the second and third pots with different items being found at the bottom. The second contained several precious stones and coins. The coins looked like they came from a foreign nation and time.

The third contained, surprisingly sewing needles and glowing thread, under his Gyo active eyes. There was a scroll in that jar too that explained what it was and how it worked. There was nothing malicious in that one and he felt that he could take that one out to show them immediately.

'_That one will belong to Akiko,_' he thought. He backed out of the tent with that pot in one hand and its contents in another. "Here," he handed them to Sakura's older cousin. "This one is definitely for you."

"Why," she asked and then looked at what was in her hands. "Oh wow," she looked at the funny needles and thread.

"The scroll explains how to use them," Naruto told her. "It basically shows you how to sew and weave with chakra and how to alter the purpose of the chakra with the colour of the thread used. It's quite interesting, but I think you've already discovered how to do most of this already."

"That's true," Akiko confirmed. "That was mostly trial and error though. This should help me greatly to improve what I already know."

The others agreed and then he told them about the gems and coins, as well as the necklace. "I don't know what that necklace will do," he said. "But I bet that with a bit of research it wouldn't take too long to figure it out."

They looked at them from the tents opening.

The Hyuga had his Byakugan activated and pointed out that several of the gems in the pile, shone with chakra. Tokuma was curious about those and wondering why they emanated chakra when the rest didn't.

Risa was looking at that necklace with interest because she had a curious nature. Even if her goal was to open a physical training centre, it didn't mean that she had no other interests.

They all noticed that the last pot hadn't been touched. "Take out the others and then only go back in there to deal with the last jar," Risa suggested. "I'll take the necklace and the pot that it came in. Sensei?"

"I'll admit that I'm curious about the gems," he told them. "The coins could be sold to collectors and we could all share in the profit to make it fair to all of us."

"I agree," Naruto said. Thinking of all the ways that the money could be used, especially in a couple of important ways for the small Kitsune Company Ltd business. It was a venture that he'd begun almost nearly as soon as he'd gone back in time because it was the one thing that kept his mind occupied and also helped him to practice dealing with large numbers of people. Only this time it was a game of patience and something that he knew he couldn't do or make any move to fast. He was just getting certain pieces in place for a very special reason.

"But Naruto, you'd be stuck with that one," Akiko said and pointed to the lone pot in the tent.

"That's just how things work sometimes," he said with a shrug. "I know that I can sew well enough now to make a few base things, but I wouldn't be able to make good use of those." He pointed to the items in her hands. "I don't care about the necklace enough to investigate it, so just be careful with it. Please, Risa, it did come from Suna," he asked of her and the girl nodded. "Sharing the profit from coins that are not important to us is fine, although I think that I'd like to keep a few as a remembrance of our Chunin adventure."

Tokuma nodded and said, "I was planning to do that too. Okay get those items out of the tent and once we've put them away, you can go back to investigate the last pot."

Naruto did that quickly and said, "I'm going to mediate for a bit before checking that last one. So take your time to check out your new toys."

The others laughed and noted that the blond was already seated comfortably and had tuned everything out with deeper breaths. He knew that he could do that because these three were some of his precious people now and he knew that they would guard him while he was in that semi-vulnerable state. They were counted in the past as important because they'd belonged to Konoha, but in this time frame they now had a place in his heart with the old Team Seven as he remembered them.

His new Team Seven were slowly beginning to grow on him, as some things changed, like his own skills and abilities.

Sasuke was talking more and asking him more questions. The dark haired boy still didn't think he knew much though and it was funny to Naruto to think about it sometimes.

Sakura was the strange one of the group and he wondered what would be needed to wake her up from that '_helpless maiden_' syndrome that she thinks she needed to be.

Kakashi-sensei was the same as always, but somehow the blond could sense that he was watching over all of them more than he'd done in the past.

(…_Yes…_) The Fox said. (…_What's the matter…_)

(…Nothing really…) Naruto told him. (…I just thought that I'd warn you that I'm about to do something potentially dangerous…)

(_...How polite…_) Kurama looked down at the boy, who still fluctuated from boy to teenager to grey haired old man. (…_I really wish you'd stop doing that. Pick a form and stick with it would you…_)

(…What are you talking about…) Naruto asked, not aware that'd he'd been shifting through the ages of his past life.

(_…Never mind…_) The Yoko replied. (…_Tell me what you're about to do and why_…)

It was then that Naruto explained about the Chunin exams and what happened in the Buried Palace. He told the fox about the treasure and what they'd discovered in three of the pots. The blond showed the fox what the items looked like and what he could sense from them.

(…_The necklace is an elemental amplifier…_) The fox told him with honesty. (…_Your friend should check for her elemental affinities and then call upon them once the necklace is placed around her neck. She should practice her elements first to properly learn to control them before trying to amplify them. The stones will shift to match the colour of her elements and the necklace will effectively imprint on her, staying with her until the day she dies, meaning that once it's on it can't even be given away…_)

(…Thanks…) Naruto said. (…Can she change the necklace and say make bracelets out of the stones?...)

(…_Of course…_) The fox said. (…_Those gems that came with the coins, the ones that you were talking about do the same thing as the stones in the necklace to amplify an element, but only if the element matches the actual colour of the gem. They don't have the same properties, as the ones in the necklace, like imprinting on one owner. Although you should know only someone that hasn't tested for their elemental affinity can unstring that necklace and re-work it…_)

(…She's about to bond with a nin-dog. Will the necklace affect her bond with the dog…) Naruto asked.

(…_No_…) Kurama told him. (…_Those dogs usually only bond with someone of similar affinity or a complementary element to balance out the Ninja they bond with_…)

(…You're unusually forthcoming today…) Naruto stated. (…Is there something about the fourth pot or jar that you think I should know…)

The fox looked away and sighed. The creature paused and then looked back at the shifting boy and said in a very serious non-menacing tone. (…_If it's what I think it is… and I could be very wrong... but if the jar is sealed and truly looks like the others, I have a feeling that it may actually contain the offspring of a Biju…_)

Naruto blinked and then asked. (...Can Biju beget offspring?...)

(…_Yes_…) The Fox replied. (…_In days long passed, we used to mingle with regular creatures of our own natures. That's why some animals seem to have more intelligence or may be born differently like having too many tails. However this one's been locked away for who knows how long. It might not be sane anymore_…)

(…Oh…) Naruto said. He paused and then looked at the demon. (…Do you want to be present for this in a mingled form?...)

(…_We would have a greater chance to survive, if it is a starved Biju child_...) The demon told him.

The blond nodded and said. (…I'll pull you forth once I have the jar open…)

Naruto's awareness came back and he noted that the others were patiently waiting for him to continue with his last task. He took up his ink and brush once more, to add more to the seal on the old tent. '_It doesn't hurt to be prepared_,' he thought. '_Just in case…_'

"I'm nearly ready," he said and felt the agreement from his prisoner. "Don't pull me out until I tell that you can. I have the feeling that this last one will be a challenge." He paused and then asked Risa, "Do you know your elemental affinity?"

"Not yet," she told them. "I wanted to wait to see if I will actually be bonded with a nin-dog first."

"Good plan," Naruto told her. "You can take that necklace apart if you don't know what your element affinity is, so make it into whatever other jewelry you want before learning what your elements are, if you don't like how it looks at the moment. The stones will augment your elemental affinities, including that of your nin-dog companion. It seems that once you've activated your element the stones will change colour to match and imprint on you. It's not transferable until you die, just thought you'd like to know."

Risa looked at him wide-eyed and wondered just how he got the information so quickly and then he patted his stomach. That was the signal that told them he found something out from the contained nine-tailed fox demon.

They'd learnt about him being the Jinchuriki of the Demon Fox, in the beginning of being a team and before they'd done too many missions together.

Akiko had only commented that it was no wonder some people treated him like shit and then she promised that she'd never do anything like that. Risa was of the same opinion.

Their sensei had confessed that he was there to keep an eye on things, but that he knew about it too. It was then that he'd explained the decree in the village and that it was up to Naruto on whether his Jounin-sensei would add any of that information to his mission report.

The blond didn't want that information known, since he'd told them that he'd always had his suspicions about it. He'd shrugged back then and said, "I talk to him sometimes, but you needn't worry because he's fully sealed and can't escape. I'm just glad that someone's around to make sure he doesn't through chance."

There wasn't anything else that they could have said to that. They'd done their missions and had fully accepted the fact that Naruto spoke to the demon confined within him, from time to time. It was a good thing too because now Risa knew where to begin looking for information on that necklace that she'd just gotten from the Buried Palace of Suna.

"All right," Tokuma said. "You be careful with that last pot."

"Yes sensei," Naruto told the man as he crawled back into his old tent. He sat cross legged in the middle of it, after he'd closed the tent flaps, much to the irritation of his concerned friends that had wanted him to leave it open.

He'd already run his hands over the item, but this time he did so calling forth the demon's burning chakra, adding it to his Nen Jutsu abilities. The fox was present in his mind in such a way that it was able to comment on the jar and how it was plugged.

(…_Interesting_…) It said. (…_I haven't seen that design for several centuries. It is quite unique and yes it does contain a baby Biju, although it's very weak at the moment because it has no chakra to feed upon…_)

(…If I release it, will it attack…) Naruto asked.

(…_I don't know_…) Kurama told him. (…_I cannot even tell you which one of us sired him_…)

(…Oh well…) Naruto said and then he positioned himself in such a way to intercept the baby Biju before it could do any damage. He used his Nen Jutsu techniques to unseal the jar. Pale red smoke poured from the jar and then what fell out into his lap was nothing bigger than his longest finger.

(…_It's one of mine…_) The fox said with tears pouring down Naruto's face, as they had partially mingled in order to contain what could have been a serious danger. (…_It cannot be saved like this either…_) The demon continued to cry.

Naruto called forth his Nen Jutsu and very slowly added some of the Ren or life force back into the super tiny kit. The little creature uncurled and began to breath easier, but once the force outside force was removed it returned to its unmoving, near dying formation.

(…There has to be a way to save it…) Naruto said to his prisoner. (…There's no way that they wouldn't have been prepared to extract it and keep it alive…)

(…_Well you could always add him to your seal_…) The fox said.

(…Making him a prisoner too?...) Naruto frowned. (…I don't think that I'd agree with something like that, not even to save his life…)

_(…No, he wouldn't be caged like me_…) The adult fox said. (…_He'd be able to come and go, as he wanted after he'd absorbed some of my chakra to make him stronger_…)

(…I don't know that the villagers would approve of something like that…) Naruto said. (…I wouldn't want him to get hurt because the humans in my village would be afraid of a fox running around town, even if he is very tiny...)

The demon fox, Kurama thought about another path and wondered if that would allow him more freedom than being stuck within the belly of the strange, physically shifting kid. He hesitated only a moment, but knew that in order to save the baby Biju, that he'd allow the changes to occur should it be presented to him.

(…_Did you know that many of the Biju children. I talking about those that were strong or perhaps too strong and had special skills had been gathered into the first scrolls of summoning_…) The Yoko asked him. The blond boy looked at him startled. (…_The child needs to be stronger. You could add him to your seal. Let the child live with me and learn from me. As soon as he's strong enough, you create a summoning scroll for the FOX and add him to it. You do have that ability within you_…)

(…Create a summon scroll…) Naruto said in wonder. (…Are you sure? Don't summons need to have a finite number inside them or something…)

(…_In the beginning summoning scrolls started only with one animal_…) The fox explained. (…_Biju animals that have various skills will all know when a scroll has been created for those of their nature. For many it was their choice to be bound in such a way and therefore extend their lives because of it. It also granted them a place to live outside of the norm, like pocket dimensions where the spirits exist_…)

Naruto thought about it and then thought about the Akatsuki that were going to appear in the future to hunt him down because of Kurama. '_If he chooses the summon option,_' he thought. '_Could he still be used by those creeps? Should I offer him that option too?_'

(…So you're saying that the first summoning scrolls created were done with the consent of the Biju children…) Naruto asked.

(…_Of course not_…) The fox snapped his sharp teeth at him. (…_Only some were done with consent, most were done by force, but eventually many saw the advantages of their longer lives under that kind of contract, however those that were forced into those scrolls may be more vicious or the ones harder to control_…)

Naruto looked at the tiny kit and wondered about how to go about speaking to it, to find out what it wanted.

(…_It's not aware of anything yet_…) The demon told him. (…_It's still too under developed. Just add him to the seal and we'll take care of him. The chakra and technique you're currently using isn't enough to make it well or to make it grow in the outside world. Let me take care of him for now…please_…)

'_It's strange, but I think that I'm going to enjoy this new development,_' Naruto thought. He exposed his stomach seal and scratched a couple of the markings to open the chakra and parts of the conditions of the seal. He let the fox's chakra take over.

The red aura was extremely visible and affected many that were sensitive to the fact that it truly belonged to the Fox and not the vessel. However the feeling from it was very different from anything that the humans in the area had ever felt before, so many dismissed it as not being the demon fox. A couple of ANBU had been dispatched to check it out, though.

"_Come on little kit,_" the fox said through the voice of the human. "_Open your eyes and your chakra points, we can help you._"

The tiny little thing opened its red eyes and gazed into extremely similar ones in the face of a blond human boy. "Papa," it said. "Help, pleas…"

"Come on," Naruto said coaxing more Nen into the little fox. "You need to open up your own chakra in order for the seal to do its job." He lay down and placed the little thing on his bleeding stomach. His hands moved with such speeds through the hand signs to activate the Seal, that even his Kakashi-sensei would have been jealous at the precision before the man attempted to try and copy them.

The baby fox lapped up of the blood, absorbed the Nen and the mixed chakra that surrounded him. He watched the seals and saw the cage form inside the tent. It was limited to the size of the tent, but it was enough. A ghostly human figure picked up the fox kit and passed the fox baby through the bars of the cage to the much larger fox that only pick it up gently and settled in on one of its remaining large chakra tails.

The cage disappeared quickly and then the wounds from the cut seal were immediately healed. A hand wiped away the blood, but the body in the tent didn't move. A human sighed as he started to get a headache from the strain of containing two demonic foxes, but this was only going to be for a short while.

Naruto sat up and then looked at the pot. It was still intact, but the aura from it had completely dissipated. He peeked on the inside of it and found a band of metal with sigils on it. Reading what they were he hissed in anger.

It was a chakra eating collar. It was this that confined the baby and nearly destroyed the child. He sealed it inside a scroll to inspect the marking before finding a way to destroy it. He looked again inside the pot and saw that there was nothing left in there. He wanted to keep the pot anyway, so he put it away in another scroll before he walked out of the tent.

"Hey guys," he said as he stepped out of the tent and hid the scroll.

They'd received visitors because of the fox chakra that had been sensed. Akiko and Risa were standing guard at the tent's entrance, while Tokuma had been arguing with two of the ANBU guards that had shown up on orders from the Hokage. They all turned to him and wondered if he was all right.

"What's going on," he asked in seeming ignorance.

"I'll ask him," Tokuma said to the guard. His old sensei had knelt in front of him and then asked, "Did you tap into…"

"Ah," Naruto shifted, rubbed the back of his head looking away and upset. He looked guilty and sad at the same time. "That couldn't be helped it. It was the contents of that last pot."

"What was it," Tokuma asked.

"Before I tell you could you please destroy the tent," Naruto asked. "What came out should be allowed to receive a decent burial."

"All right," Tokuma said and nodded at the girls. They'd been prepared for that since anything marked in Fujin sigils should always be destroyed after being used otherwise some things would be hard to keep secret.

Akiko and Risa, each took a readied branch from their campfire, lit the corners of the tent and watch as it burned. As soon as the tent was no longer there, they'd mixed the tent's charred bits with the earth under it in order to cover the fact that something had been burnt there.

Then they all looked at Naruto, who forced more tears from his eyes, although it wasn't all that hard to do, because of the upheaval of emotions that he'd received from the fox. "It was a fox baby," Naruto told them all softly. "I had to kill it, but it was of Biju origins." He patted his stomach and continued. "It wasn't happy because it had to die. I'm sorry if I caused anyone any worries."

The ANBU were shocked to hear that. "Genin Uzumaki, are you in any danger?"

"No," Naruto said. "I feel pretty much like I always did. I was just sadder and angrier because of what I had to do."

"You killed something," the ANBU asked. "What was it?"

"I don't know what it was, but it had to be done," Naruto told them. It was a whopping big lie, but it wasn't like they needed to know anything about this either. "The chakra came from something that we'd brought back from Suna, but it was bad. I almost died in there, but then I passed out for a bit and when I woke up, whatever it was, was dead and I couldn't do anything more, but get rid of the remains."

The ANBU guards nodded at the logic. Despite the fact that the blond had been a Genin for nearly two years, they'd chosen at this moment to underestimate his understanding of the situation. "We'll report this to the Hokage," one of the said. "Don't worry about it."

"You can probably expect to be summoned to explain what happened here," the other said.

"I'd be glad to," Naruto said with a nod and a sniffle.

His teammates were silent about the whole thing and wondered just was it was that the blond had lied about. No else knew it, but this Jinchuriki could lie with the best of swindlers and it was interesting to know that the only thing you ever knew was that a lie had been told, but you could never guess what the true lie had been.

The two ANBU guards left and after a short while later, the old Team Eleven were treated to some of the facts. "Yes it did contain something," Naruto told them. "It was the body of a baby fox with demon origins, but it was too late. I found a collar at the bottom of the jar that had Fujin Seal markings on it, so I'll study those before destroying the collar. I think I'm going to keep the pot at a reminder of how cruel some humans in the world can be."

"Why," Akiko asked.

"A Hokage should be aware of the nature of man," Naruto said, as though quoting something he'd read before. "Oh by the way, Tokuma-sensei those gems that have a chakra aura are actually elemental booster gems. They're the colour of the elements that they'll augment, like Risa's stones. Only they're no able to be bound to one person, like her necklace or alter to match the element of the person they're bound to. I believe they could be made into things to boost someone's element."

Tokuma looked at one of the blue-white gems that had glowed and said, "This one is lightening based. Interesting, I'm going to have to review these. You two," he spoke to Akiko and Naruto. "Tell me what your elemental affinities are when you find out, all right. That way I can give each of you a gem or two."

"Okay," Akiko said.

"That sounds cool," Naruto said with a grin.

"How about we continue our camp out and you can tell us all about your new team members," Tokuma-sensei said, earning him an affected tragic groan from the blond boy and giggles from the girls. The Jounin looked at his old team, he thought, '_I've missed this and them._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**Flash Forward**

Naruto smiled as he meditated and remembered that time. Although the kit was still too small to do much, it had gotten into the habit of leaving the cage and popping into the real world to sleep with the other person feeding it the chakra he needed to grow. It was only when the blond was alone in his apartment and bundled under his covers that anyone looking it would think that he'd slept with a bright red scarf around his neck.

Sometimes, like tonight, when he meditated the babe would pop out and curl in his lap in order to be petted. It wasn't a child despite its child like appearance. It was much like Naruto in that sense, but until its body was back at a reasonable size and power, it had chosen to remain with the canny old demon fox and the sneaky blond Konoha Jinchuriki.

Naruto pet the strangely soft fur of the fox, trying to figure out what to do about Sakura. '_When the past did she finally grow up or change her obsession,_' he thought. '_We've been doing D-Class missions for a while now, but it was when..._'

Then he rolled his eyes and slapped himself on the forehead. "The mission to Wave," he said out loud.

He looked on his calendar and the recalled the day he threw one fine tantrum in the Missions Office. "Geez, a lot of things will be happening in that area. I'll still have to go slow and hope that those two will side with my needs and accept my offer."

'_That'll happen in about one month's time_,' he calculated. '_I guess I'll just have to keep an eye out for Tazuna the drunken old fart. At least this time around I won't have to throw that stupid tantrum because Jiji-Hokage owes me big time for babysitting his brat grandson and brat's little buddies._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**


	9. Chapter 9

**CH 9**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

It was during the course of one of their regular D-Class missions that Naruto nearly had a heart attack. The cause of this near death experience came from the direction of one Uchiha Sasuke. The method…the boy actually asked for help with his physical training.

Naruto was stunned for a moment and then asked, "Are you serious?"

"I wouldn't be asking if I wasn't," Sasuke told him with gritted teeth. "Why do you doubt me?" Then the brunette had the grace to flush with embarrassment as the blond only quirked an eyebrow to say, '_Don't you believe me to be just the Baka Dobe?_' (stupid, idiot)

Sasuke cleared his throat and then whispered, "Not since you showed us some of the things that you can do."

Naruto smirked and that caused the other boy to back away. "I'd need to see a day of your regular training routine first and you'd need to see a day of mine before we can begin anything. Are you ready for what that will mean?"

"What would it mean," Sasuke asked.

Naruto shrugged and said, "I'll have to stay over at your place for those two days, at least, so we won't be interrupted." He lowered his voice as Sakura was slowly making her way to them. "We can talk about this later."

Sasuke nodded and then moved to the next section of the garden that they were booked to weed that day. The girl's shoulders slumped and then she glared at the blond who'd done nothing to deserve it. She then asked, "Naruto what did you say that chased Sasuke-kun away?"

"I didn't say anything," Naruto told her, but she just huffed and walked to where Sasuke was to bother the boy, who'd been trying to avoid her, again, during this mission. The blond sighed and returned to his part of the job.

"Ne Naruto," Kakashi-sensei said getting his attention, still reading his smutty novel while sitting up a tree on a branch and observing his subordinates. "What do you plan to do about her?"

"What," Naruto said.

"I've read what your mission should be," Kakashi-sensei told him. "You're supposed to be helping her."

"I've read it too," Naruto told him. "Unless she fully accepts my help, I really can't help her. Besides I was given specific instructions not to do anything until certain conditions are met."

"What are you planning to do with Romeo then," Kakashi-sensei was looking at him from over the edge of his book and his eye was actually focused on the blond.

"Just what I told him," Naruto continued his weeding, while speaking to his sensei. "I want to see his training routine and I want him to see mine. We may compare notes, but then again maybe as a sensei you should do true evaluation of his skills in order to tell him how to improve certain aspects of it. I won't know what to do or recommend until I see what he's doing, what about you?"

"I am supposed to train the brat," the Jounin told him thoughtfully.

"In advanced techniques," Naruto agreed. "But right now you're not doing anything and if he's starved for something new to do, maybe I can get him up to my level of catchra control before you get us to go on our first C-Class mission."

"I think you mean, chakra control," the man snorted. "If you can't say, you can't do it. But go right ahead and teach him whatever you want. Don't make me have to correct too much of your Genin errors."

"It might help to have a few days off," Naruto hinted grandly. "We've been doing non-stop D-Class for the past three months now."

Kakashi-sensei focussed on the young blond wondering what the kid was up to, but then he looked up to the sky. He did a few mental calculations and realized that the kid was right. "All right," the man said. "You'll have three additional days off beginning tomorrow, which will include the week-end coming up. Will that do?"

"It will," Naruto said.

"But what'll you give me for my generosity," Kakashi asked, hanging upside down, still seemingly focussed on his book. He flipped off the branch at the sound of one of Minato-sensei's original bells from the '_Bell Test_' that had been stolen from him by the blond upstart. The bell disappeared just as quickly as it appeared.

"After today's mission is completed and you announce to Team Seven that we have a holiday and that we are to meet you again only next Wednesday for our next mission," the blond told the man. He'd moved away from the man's pick-pocket range. "You can have one of them back."

"Don't you trust me," Kakashi-sensei told him. Itching to get that bell and wondered if the kid even knew how to protect himself against pick-pockets.

"I could tell you the end of that novel instead," Naruto told him.

"You shouldn't be able to," the man replied, not caring if the boy had read any of the perverted books or not. "Doesn't matter I've already finished it."

"Didn't make much sense did it? However, I happen to also know that the new one coming out, will clear up a few things and that it's coming to a particular bookstore this Saturday as a one day advance sale promotional thing," Naruto told his sensei, indicating the book in the man's hands. "In a very limited number of copies too."

"How do you know," Kakashi-sensei gaped. Even he hadn't heard about that and he had his ear in all stores.

"Friends in low places," Naruto told him and finished up the section he'd been working on. He looked around to find that all other parts of the overly large garden that needed weeding were done. He looked at his sensei pointedly and then looked around him exaggeratedly.

Sasuke and Sakura had both finished their sections and were making their way to the two of them. Kakashi-sensei then looked around, made a notation on the mission scroll that he'd be turning in. He looked at Naruto and then looked at the other two of Team Seven.

He made his decision and said, "All right… I've decided that tomorrow you three get the day off including the weekend and since the Missions Office is slow after a weekend we'll only meet at the Bridge next Wednesday, at our regular time. Dismissed."

Sasuke glanced at Naruto who only waved him off with a kind of, '_I'll catch you up later_,' hand sign at his side away from Sakura. It didn't matter if their sensei saw it, but this allowed the Uchiha to escape rather quickly before the girl even registered that the dark haired boy was gone.

"See you on Wednesday, Kakashi-sensei," she told the man. "Naruto," she said the blond's name in a pointed tone, to indicate her hate for him, and then walked away. '_Maybe this will be a good time to seek out Akiko and find out more about how her old team was_,' she thought. '_I don't even know who her teammates were._'

"Thank you sensei," Naruto said and was about to walk away when the man stopped him.

"Wait," he called out. "The bell?"

Naruto blinked and then said, "Oh, you mean this one?"

He lifted it up, let it ring its friendly little tinkle and then quickly tossed it high into the air. The blond then ran away quickly before the man could change his mind about the days off. He needn't have worried because with the prospect of a new pervy book coming in on Saturday, the man could've forgiven the kid for making him exert a minor effort to catch the bell. The blond had even given him the name of the bookstore getting the shipment, plus the pass phrase that the boy had agreed on for the man to sell the book to Kakashi, as a favour for an unpaid mission. The store name and phrase were on a small tag attached to the precious bell.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Sasuke paced the yard in his compound wondering just what Naruto had done to bribe the man into releasing them for that many days. It was during his fourth circuit that he sensed the blond boy approaching. Well it was more that he heard the boy approaching because the guy was whistling a jaunty, catchy tune.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said. "So let's talk personal training."

"I thought I was going to show you," Sasuke asked.

"You will," Naruto said. "But let's talk about how far you want to go in field of being a Shinobi for the village of Konoha."

"You're beginning to sound like those loser councillors that we had to go see back at the Academy," Sasuke groused.

"What councillors?" Naruto asked confused. "I've never been to any councillor. What do they do?"

Sasuke looked at him and then wondered just how many had to see a career councillor or if that person was there to do some other evaluation. "I'm talking about a career councillor," the boy explained. "Didn't you see one?"

"Actually no," Naruto told him. "But then again, I didn't need to because there were no other job options for me."

"What do you mean," Sasuke asked.

"I'm an orphan without valid means to support myself," the blond explained. "You either; enroll at the Academy and become a Ninja or else you get taken as an apprentice by some business. I didn't want anyone to control what I could and couldn't learn, so the Shinobi path it was. Beside, right now, it's kind of a cool job."

"Not with all these stupid D-Class missions," Sasuke complained.

"We haven't meshed, as a team, like we should have," Naruto told him. "Truthfully, if Kakashi-sensei followed the formula set out for him, we'd have done about a month or so of D-Class missions and then taken some time off to train in various things that needed training. Then we'd have figured out a training routine to work around more D-Class missions in order to eventually be able to successfully accomplish C-Class missions."

Sasuke sighed and then asked, "Is it because of me or Sakura?"

"All three of you actually," Naruto said.

"Three of…us?"

"You're beginning to work with me, but not Sakura," Naruto explained. "Kakashi-sensei only orders us around and shows us a few things, like the communication devices, but only when we need to get that stupid cat. He should have given a few situational ideas of when those are used, but he didn't. Also he doesn't bother to reign in Sakura's attitude, but I don't think that anything will help there unless something big happens."

"Like what," Sasuke said.

"I don't know," Naruto said with a grin. "I'm sure something will come up."

"I hope so," Sasuke said. "I can't believe that she wants to be a serious Kunoichi when all she does is bother me."

"Well that's partly your own fault too," Naruto said. "You don't speak your mind around her or any of the other girls, so of course your wishy-washy attitude will make them think that you '_secretly like the attention_'. Did you know that most of them grew their hair long because someone heard you say you like long hair?"

"But that was just to get the girl off my arm and away from me," he admitted.

"Then you should have said something like '_What do I care how your hair looks_?' then they'd probably have all left you alone," Naruto said.

"But that's rude," Sasuke blurted. His mother would have killed him if he'd been rude to other people.

"What they do to you is also rude," Naruto said. "They're not reading the signals you put out, so maybe it's just better to be a little bit rude to get them to back off."

Sasuke looked away and then said, "I'll think about it."

"Good," Naruto then continued his previous conversation. "So what are you interested in studying and how far do you want to get in the field of being a Ninja of Konoha Village? In other words what are your likes, dislikes and dreams of the future?"

Sasuke eyes popped open from their broody, scowling expression. He took in the smirk that the blond had on his face and then snorted. "Fine," he said. "Want some tea?"

"I'd love some," Naruto said and then followed the Uchiha into a house that hadn't had a guest come visit it for the past five or six years.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Sasuke had shown him the regular training routine he usually followed. He'd been surprised that Naruto had kept up with it and it was interesting to have someone to practice moves with and then spar with after new moves had been learned.

Today was the say that the Uchiha was going to follow his blond teammate throughout the boy's physical training schedule. He was in for a rude awakening if he thought the boy was lazy or stupid.

Naruto threw a kunai into his teammate's room with a bomb tag attached. It was set to pop loudly. The kunai thunked into the wood high above the boy's bed. '_It won't do to harm the guy,_' he thought and the shook his head. '_He didn't even note the danger. Sure I didn't release any killing intent, but if I was going to kill someone I wouldn't let them know about in such an obvious way either. He needs to increase his awareness of his surroundings._'

He left the room and plugged his ears. There was a loud, **POP, BANG**, followed by a, "What the hell?" This came from someone that sat up startled in bed.

The blond peeked into the room and said, "Morning. Get dressed for a run. Pack only water and meet me at the front door."

"What time is it?" Sasuke asked glaring out the window at the fact that there was barely pre-dawn light.

"Is your time sense not working," Naruto asked. "Because that's something that we'll have to work on too, now come on. I hate being delayed for my morning run, it ruins my day."

"Fine, fine," Sasuke said. He grumbled getting out of his warm cozy bed. He grumbled getting dressed in something to run in. He grumbled packing some water bottles. He was about to grumble at the blond at the front door, but couldn't when that person turned to look at him.

"Come on," Naruto said. "We need to do some stretching first." He led them out into the main yard and said, "Follow my lead." He did his normal routine of Yoga and Tai-Chi mix, which was followed by a set number of sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, squats and followed by more stretching this time with his weights on. He gave Sasuke some weights too, but only half the amount he carried, as he didn't want the boy to overdo it, since he'd noticed that he hadn't been using weights during his normal routine.

"Now we jog slowly to the entrance of the village," Naruto said, adjusting his weighted vest and the one on his companion had on to prevent chaffing.

"What," Sasuke said. "Why?"

"You're to follow me during my regular training routine, yes?" He asked in a pointed tone. He received a hesitant nod and so he continued. "You'll just have to wait and see what I do because it's more fun if you're surprised by it. Now we go." He began the run slowly, forcing the Uchiha to maintain the slow pace until they reached the front gates of the village.

"Just one today guys," Naruto said to the Chunin guards, making notes in their books to indicate who entered and left the village. "Could you time us please?"

"Sure thing kid," the first guard said.

"Ooo-ooo," the second one noised. "You're bringing him along." He glanced at the first guard and they were both ready to make bets on the time it would take for the last of the Uchiha clan to run once round the parameter of the village. Especially with someone who'd upped the number of times around to five on days that the blond Genin had no missions.

"Don't worry we'll make sure that it's recorded for you," the first guard said. They let the boy's through the door, much to Sasuke's surprise.

"Let's go Teme," Naruto said without any heat. This time he turned right at the doors heading east, so that by the time the return to the front gates the sun wouldn't be in their eyes.

"Dobe," Sasuke returned, but followed the other boy and allowed the blond to set the pace. '_How far is he going to go?_'

Naruto increased his speed, again to half of what he normally used in order to allow his huffing teammate to stay with him. They were about three quarters of the way around the village, when the blond halted to stretch, before he jogged in place and sipped some water.

Sasuke was grateful for the pauses, but there had been only one at about every quarter waypoint. He stretched when the blond did, jogged in place and sipped the water he'd brought, as told. He then groaned as the blond picked up speed again.

'_My legs feel like limp noodles because of the weights,_' he thought. '_I wonder...does he do this every day?_'

"Come on Teme," Naruto called out. "You're thinking too hard, if you can't keep up. This is the last quarter. When we reach the gates, jog in place while I find out about our time. Then we'll jog slowly back to your home."

"Dobe," Sasuke huffed. "Bring it on."

"You got it," Naruto said. He jogged backwards and the forwards, forcing the huffing boy to follow his lead. The new format forced a change to their stresses on their legs, but it was a relief to the dark haired boy, as his muscles were feeling the exercise.

They reached the gates and Naruto noted the money exchange between the Chunin guards that were still there because they'd chosen to remain after their shift to see the results of the run.

"How long," the blond asked. He was shown the time and then he tsked. "Three hours, eight minutes… that's pathetic, but understandable. Thanks guys."

"Why did it take so long," the first guard asked him because they'd had a bet on that too.

"He's weighted down," Naruto said, as he kept the slow jog and left the guards station. He slowed his pace until they were walking casually.

Luckily they made back to the Uchiha Clan Compound before the normal villagers were beginning to wake up. It wouldn't have been any fun, if they were delayed because the '_Last Uchiha_' had gotten accosted by attention seeking females of their age group.

Sasuke was about to remove the weights when his teammate said, "No. You keep those on for the rest of the day, now we stretch and then have breakfast."

The day pretty consisted of exercise, stretch, practice Taijutsu, stretch, meditate on chakra and then there was climb the buildings using learned chakra control, going up one side, over the roofs and down the other. This was done using just feet and then just hands.

"Normally I'd do this in one of the abandoned warehouses in the village," Naruto told Sasuke. "I won't go through the large part of that routine because you don't know how to do this yet."

"Can you teach it to me," Sasuke asked with an eager tone. It was something new to learn and looked cool to, not that he'd admit to wanting to know something just because it looked cool.

"Yes," Naruto told him. "But first we continue doing more of my regular training routine." More consisted, throwing kunai, throwing shuriken, practicing all three base Jutsu Techniques from the Academy and then sparring in hand-to-hand only with his clones, since he'd never had a partner willing to spar with him before.

"Why use clones," Sasuke asked, winded from his efforts against the real Naruto and one of his clones. "Aren't they normally weak?"

"These ones are known as Kage Bushin," Naruto said. "They're full bodied clones that can take several hits before disappearing."

"But why spar with just clones," Sasuke asked.

"Well sometimes I spar with my old teammates," Naruto said. "Not many people want to spar with me and everyone my age; are either at the Academy or are on Genin teams doing missions. Why?"

"Your moves are somewhat repetitious," Sasuke said. "You'd need to spar with other people or else find new Taijutsu techniques."

"So who do you spar with," Naruto asked in a pointed fashion and the dark haired boy looked down with a frown. "It's not that easy is it? I suppose that if I want to train, I could request that it be a D-Class mission, but then I don't want to have to pay for a Genin team to spar with me. I can learn from the books, but I'd rather have someone learn with me and want to teach me. As a team, we should really be learning all of this together."

He slapped his whiskered cheeks, which the dark haired boy knew meant a change in subject. "Break's over, more training now."

This time it was kunai with wire and fake bomb tags, shuriken and fake bombs, then some more movement practice, stretches, Taijutsu and then several scrolls were pulled out for study. Naruto moved them indoors and into a room that had once held a lot of people who gathered for family meals. He set up, his paper, ink and the scrolls he'd studied from.

"I don't know what interests you," Naruto said. "I'm studying a few techniques in Genjutsu, Ninjutsu and trying to find some Seal techniques to add to the strength of my blades. I usually eat lunch around this time and spend most of the first part of an afternoon indoors studying to relax my body. It's almost like meditation while I do this."

"I have some family scrolls," Sasuke said. "Some of the techniques look good, but sometimes I don't understand what their purpose is." He'd seen the scrolls that the blond pull out. They were semi-advanced techniques ranging from the very base E-Levels to many in the range of C-Level and B-Level, with a couple in the A-Levels. "Do you think you could look at them and judge their levels and maybe help me figure them out?"

"If you buy me ramen three days a week for two months," Naruto told him.

"What," Sasuke sputtered.

"I'm not receiving any kind of compensation for my time to do that," Naruto told him. "Judging the approximate levels of family or Clan scrolls takes time and it has nothing to do in finding a training routine that will allow you to improve your other skills. Now does it?"

Sasuke sighed, but then said, "I'd willingly let you learn from them."

"I'll be doing that anyway as I evaluate them," Naruto told him.

"I'd let you keep the ones that would be of no use to someone like me," Sasuke countered again.

Naruto paused and then asked, "What about your future offspring? Wouldn't it be of use to them?"

"I don't think that I want children," Sasuke confessed.

Naruto shrugged. "I think that I can understand that."

In the future he hadn't been active in that way all that much and his preferences in gender seemed to have leaned towards male versus female. It still seemed that way. However there had been that one strange conversation with his old Team Eleven teammates about that very subject, children. They'd actually asked him and their sensei, which had stunned the man, to donate their sperm in the future. It was for a time when the girls' Shinobi contracts were supposed to have finished.

When asked why, they'd received the simplified explanation that the girls wanted to have a child that they could raise while they were still young enough to do so, but that would also help them to remain focused on what they planned to do aid the village to grow. There was no official mandate, but this had been something that many of the women in the village had been silently encouraged to do while they could in order to sort of replenish the village population. No child was condemned for being a bastard in the Shinobi Villages.

Akiko had said, "Naruto's colouring is unique, plus he's got excessive chakra reserves that you've even commented on sensei."

Risa had said, "Sensei, you're a Hyuga and probably have family obligations, while the Inuzuka Clan is in need of new blood. I just thought that perhaps you'd be willing to let me introduce it without all of the attachments that'll come from formalized unions. Um…that is, if your Clan Head will allow it."

The men of the old Team Eleven had agreed that should the girls still be interested by the time that Naruto turned sixteen, which would probably be the better time for him to donate his seed as he was still quite young at the moment. He was also slightly underdeveloped due to childhood malnutrition to, but they agreed that they would do it. It was also a more ideal time for the girls as they'd be young women of eighteen years and probably mature enough to handle raising, near fatherless, children.

They'd all signed a contract to that effect, only to be negated if any of them entered into a formalized union with another person. So far the countdown was still happening and Naruto knew that in perhaps less than four years he'd be named the biological father a child or two.

"What about you," Sasuke asked.

"Me," Naruto said. "Well that will depend on what happens between now and the day I turn sixteen."

"What," Sasuke said. "Why sixteen?"

"It's complicated, very personal, and not really something that I'm comfortable discussing with anyone right now," he told his teammate. "So lunch and we can discuss the scrolls, provided you agreed to the buying me ramen three days a week for two months and it doesn't include the times that we'll be out of Konoha on missions."

"So not two months straight because of missions," Sasuke said. He could agree to that in order to get help with the scrolls. He could already tell that the blond was studying more than just specific Sealing Techniques, but didn't want to lose what he was about to gain here. "I'm willing agree that for the following period of two months, barring any outside mission, that I will treat you to ramen two days per week, during a sixty day timeframe, which means twelve days of free ramen, not to exceed two bowls per meal for you."

Naruto grinned and knew that Sasuke was smart, but didn't he just catch the fact that the blond loved to eat more than one bowl per meal at Ichiraku. "Ah," the blond grinned and then tried to negotiate. "I was hoping for three days and four bowls?"

"Nope," Sasuke told him. "Would you rather that I only chose to go only one bowl for one day in a week for?"

"Three bowls, two times a week," Naruto again tried to negotiate for one more bowl.

"The four bowls one day a week," Sasuke said. "Any supplemental bowls belong to me. You better write that down before you forget yourself."

Naruto chuckled and then laughed. "Good bargain," he said. "Two bowls and two days a week or four bowls one day a week." He wrote up everything under the dark haired boy's watchful eyes, who nodded to that addition and then they both signed the deal. "Deal?"

"Deal," the dark haired boy told him. "Now we can eat."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The two boys refined the training that the dark haired, lone Uchiha would do. Further negotiation for help occurred and now the Uchiha was going to learn chakra control this same weekend.

Naruto told him in order to teach him that, they'd have to go to a special training ground and be prepared to stay there for three days and two nights' time. They met at the village gates ready to leave for what the blond called alternate survival training.

Sasuke was led along the same path that Konohamaru had once used to follow the blond Jinchuriki. He was still weighted down and still had to follow his teammate, who was similarly weighted down with nearly twice the amount of weights because he'd been training longer with them.

They reached the cliff rock face and the dark haired youth wondered where they were going to from there. That's when his jaw dropped at the question that came out of Naruto's mouth.

"Oi Sasuke," the blond called out. "Have you ever been rock climbing? Do you need a harness?"

"Dobe," the darker boy said. "What are you talking about?"

"We need to climb this cliff in order to reach our camping area," Naruto told him. "So have you ever been rock climbing and do you want to use a harness or not?"

"I've never been," Sasuke told him. "Aren't you going to walk up there using your wall walking ability?"

"That's just chakra control," Naruto told him. "I can't walk up and leave you behind. Besides climbing the hard way is fun. So…"

Sasuke sighed and asked, "How do I use a harness?"

Naruto then spent a bit of time explaining how to climb. (...i...) He'd decided not to link himself to the Uchiha because Sasuke wouldn't thank him for that kind of help. This was just another form of training and it was something that he could show and demonstrate without have to hold the guy's hand, so-to-speak, to do it. Sasuke wouldn't have appreciated begin treated like Konohamaru.

They climbed the cliff with near ease, after the Uchiha had managed to find a rhythm that suited him and that was only after he'd gotten used to the method of climbing. Jab a kunai in a crevasse, activate the anchor and climb to the length of the anchor rope. Anchor with a second kunai, release the first, and repeat.

They reached the top of the cliff and after packing the harnesses and other equipment. They ran to one of the camp areas at the top of that plateau. They set up their camp and ensured that everything was set and ready so that they could spend their time teaching or learning, as the case may be.

Naruto was fishing, while Sasuke tried to '_climb a tree_'. "Mah," the blond said. "You're putting too much chakra into it."

The result, the dark haired boy didn't put enough on the next run, so he slipped and fell. The blond snickered, but the difference between too much and too little showed the dark haired boy a way to narrow it down to the just enough he needed. He decided to alternate between the two and found that he could almost sense what would be the right amount.

"Yatta," he said softly, as he was finally able to go up the length of the tree to grab the shuriken that had been tossed up there by his short blond teacher. He watched as the other boy finally moved from his spot and carried six fish on a string.

"Well," Naruto said looking up. "You do need to get down now, right. Take five minutes to recharge and then come down." The dark haired boy scowled, but nodded.

Five minutes later there was a thump, followed by '_itaii_' (ouch) and a '_kuso_' (damn-it or shit). The blond didn't bother to go help the other boy, who eventually limped back to the camp sight rubbing his backside.

"Anything broken," Naruto asked.

"No," Sasuke sat down gingerly to avoid the forming bruise and a caught a small jar in his hand. "What's this?"

"Rub it in the bruised area," Naruto told him. "It will help prevent muscle strain overnight, however I'd wait until you finish eating your supper because it smells." He handed him one of the cooked fish on a stick. "In the morning we'll do parts of our regular routine and then test you on climbing a few of the trees."

"Is there anything else to learn," Sasuke asked.

"Loads," Naruto said. "Trees are just the first and probably most annoying set to do. However with trees it's the best to use them to learn on because if you fall, you can always catch a branch with your hands, if you're not tired. The landing may not be quite as soft as all that, but it's better to learn on something you're most likely to be climbing anyway. Chakra control for doing the building scampering that we normally see the Shinobi doing, is only a matter of a bit of chakra added to boost their jump and a bit more to stick to the roof they're jumping onto."

"Too little and they would slip and fall off the roof," Sasuke said contemplatively. "Too much and they'd go through the roof." He looked up at the sky. It was full of stars on this night. Usually he was too angry to look, but something made him look tonight. He played with them in his mind like he used to do with his older brother when he was little.

'_How many formations can you see_,' Itachi had asked him.

"Seventeen," he said out loud.

'_You haven't learned any new ones, yet,_' Itachi in his mind laughed at him and then said. '_Mah, little brother, you need to add a new one every week in order to be able to read them properly._'

The little boy that Sasuke was at the time had only answered, '_I like those ones because they're the ones that Aniki_ (big brother)_ taught me._'

Naruto had blinked at the softly spoken word '_seventeen_' and chose not to interrupt the other boy's thoughts. It looked like he was seeing something from his past that didn't hurt him to remember.

'_Sometimes you just need to do that once in a while in life_,' he thought and looked up too. '_They're up there somewhere watching. I hope I don't disappoint any of you._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Saturday had Kakashi-sensei outside the bookshop looking in, hoping that his student hadn't lied about promotional Icha Icha book. His eye widened and then glittered when he saw it. '_I guess we all earned a holiday,_' he thought as he stepped into the store.

The man behind the counter had been keeping an eye out for the blond's Jounin-sensei. '_The kid was pretty descriptive too,_' the man thought. '_There's no mistaking who that man is._'

"I'm here for one of those," Kakashi said, with an eager gleam for the book in his eye.

"Those are all reserved," the man behind the counter told him.

"The Fox sent me," Kakashi said with a grin behind his mask. '_That was some pass phrase that the kid chose._'

"Hm," the owner said. He pulled out a black bag that contained the book. "Here," the man said. "One thousand and twenty five Ryo, non-negotiable."

"That's a bit much for this kind of book," Kakashi said surprised.

"That was the price negotiated by that brat," the owner of the store said. "Everyone else is paying two thousand five hundred twenty-three Ryo for it, so be grateful."

"I am, I am," Kakashi told the man and then paid him the amount negotiated for him by his supposedly clueless Genin. As soon as he had the book safely tuck away, he asked. "May I ask how the boy knew about it?"

"We did an exchange of service," the man said. "He watches the store unpaid and I visit the Red District for a few hours. Since he's a Genin he knew how to take care of those that pocket my books without paying. I usually pay the kid in books, but he'd found the letter from the publisher that I stupidly left out and that as they say is that."

"When was this?" Kakashi wondered how long the kid had been planning to use that bribe because it was obvious that the time was running out.

"About two months ago," the man told him. "Kid's good with the store. I don't get troublemakers that often. Don't get much business when he's guarding the front either, but that's okay by me too."

Kakashi nodded and the left the store with a '_Thanks_' for the brain numbing goo of adult adventure porn. He'd gotten home, opened it and thought, '_Oooo, this one looks like it'll be even better than the last one._'

Further down, on another street, near the regular housing district, a pink-haired girl knocked on the door to her older cousin's house. '_It's been a while since I've been here_,' Sakura thought. '_I don't even remember why we started fighting in the first place_.'

When she'd heard of the forced medical '_retirement_' of her cousin, she didn't know what to feel. She hadn't been curious, she'd never found out what the accident was. She usually didn't bother with much of anything else, as her cousin was one less rival to Sasuke's affection, in her mind. That was her strange perception because she believed that every other girl in the boy's vicinity were after him. Her thoughts even included some of the older girls, when in truth most of the older girls just didn't care about a broody little boy, even if he looked cute when he pouted.

Sakura bit her lip and knocked on the door.

Akiko used her crutches to get the door because just didn't feel like dealing with her prosthetic foot today. The doctors did advise that she not overdo using it for the time being. "Yes," she said opening the door. "Sakura, what are you doing here?"

Sakura noted the crutches and frowned. She looked down and gasped, "What happened?"

"Is that why you're here," Akiko huffed. "Didn't your parents already tell you?"

"They said that there was an accident, but not what happened," the pink-haired girl stated. She paused and the looked up from the shock she'd had in seeing that her cousin was actually missing a foot. "I came because I wanted to ask you how it was for you to work on a Genin team and I can't believe I never asked, but I also want to know who your teammates were and how long it took for the three of you to work as a team."

"Really," Akiko asked and earned a nod. She grinned because this was going to be so fun to talk about. Not only that, but her Uchiha obsessed cousin was about to be surprised when she mentioned the name of one of her old team members. "Come in, I'll make us some tea."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto added his normal weights and continued his morning routine. He watched as the dark haired boy, walked slowly on the water. He'd practiced another chakra control technique when tree climbing had been deemed accomplished. He'd reached a point where he'd used his chakra to jump and stick to the tree limbs and then walk down the trunk of the tree.

Sasuke grumbled when he'd first started to walk on the water with his Ninja sandals. He'd done this a few times, until his merciless blond teacher told him to remove his shoes. It was different and he'd been dunked a few times until surfaced and sputtered out loud, "WHY?"

The other boy had only told him that water absorbs chakra.

"What the hell does that mean," Sasuke had shouted when Naruto was about to jog away for a run along another, harder path that included going up and over the waterfall. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Think about it," Naruto told him. "I'm not going to give you all the solutions, you know. Work on it and if you still can't do anything by the time I get back I'll tell you then."

He didn't have to say a thing when he'd come back to camp. His teammate was walking on the water barefoot. It might have been a slow way to progress, rather than the immediate trial by fire situation in the Land of Waves, but it was the better method too.

'_Now when I tell him to think about something, I hope that he will_,' he thought. '_It hadn't even taken that long for Akiko and Risa to do that._'

He grinned as he watched Sasuke developed an interesting game of skating and wave hopping. He'd pretty much done the same thing, but he wasn't about to tell the other boy that. Instead he removed his own shoes to join him and then said, "Let's spar, Taijutsu only."

Sasuke paled slightly, but then nodded. He'd just figured out how to walk without falling into the water in the last ten minutes. Now he'd been asked to fight while having to stay up on the water and then he looked at his opponent. '_Son of a…he's still got his weights on,_' he thought. '_What the hell is he thinking?_'

Naruto wasn't. He was used to sparring on the water with his clones and weights however it's been a while. He grinned and told the other youth. "It's been a while since I sparred this way," he'd said. "So just take it easy on me."

"No way," Sasuke said and attacked.

The blond laughed, but just said, "Bring it."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Sakura had spent her remaining time off and away from Team Seven to think about what her cousin had told her. She'd gone there hoping to gain some insight on how to be a proper Genin team.

"_Inuzuka Risa and Uzumaki Naruto were my teammates,_" Akiko told her with pride. _**Pride!**_

Sakura felt no pride with her teammates and worse one of her teammates was one of the ones that her cousin was proud to have worked with. She felt weak, slow and like she was a burden to her team.

"_We meshed pretty much the first day that we were told we had to capture our sensei_," her cousin told her. "_We listened to the ideas that everyone had and in the end the only reason we passed the second hidden Genin test was because we never gave up. We kept attacking and eventually out of that some of our attacks almost became coordinated. It was a great feeling to know we'd passed._"

Sakura had had no great feeling when she'd passed the second test. Sure she was pumped at the pass, but there had been no real feeling of accomplishment there. It was like the pass was given because of her other two teammates' efforts and that she was just along for the ride.

"_We worked hard on D-Class missions for a few months before we began some intensive training to figure where we strong and where we weak. We analyzed our team dynamics and tried to gain strengths as a team and as individuals._" Akiko had said. "_We worked together to improve everything, from situational reviews and practice, to new Jutsus, Taijutsu training, weapons training and we even found that we had outside skills that we could use when working as ninjas._"

"_Like what_," Sakura had asked.

"_My sewing skills, for one,_" Akiko told her. "_Because I knew how to sew, it helped me to understanding nin-wire manipulation better than the other two. Risa's an Inuzuka, so she already had skills, but her sense of smell was an asset that we honed with her because she didn't have a nin-dog with her. Naruto was our close combat fighter, but he's also the best at navigating wire traps and tights spaces when needed. He was also the best camp cook of our group._"

"_I never knew that about Naruto_," Sakura had said. "_I just know that he was the last of the class because his grades were not that great and it was like he never tried._"

"_I was there on the day he graduated with my class,_" Akiko told her. "_He had to perform all three Jutsus, where the rest of us had to only do one. His last test was to Kawarimi and hide for five minutes in order to pass._"

"_How did he pass then because hiding for any length of time, would have been hard,_" Sakura had asked.

"_It was harder because we had a Hyuga in the class,_" Akiko told her and then laughed. "_The sneak turned into Neji's hair tie, which was always behind him and that was a blind-spot area that he'd never thought he'd had until Naruto hid in it. Naruto passed the last test and the pointed out the weakness to basically everyone in the room._"

Sakura didn't think she'd have been able to think about that solution and she'd had Hyuga Hinata in her class. In the end the last advice she'd gotten from her cousin was, "_If you don't want to be weak, don't be. If you want to be stronger, practice. Did you want to be a Kunoichi __**before**__ you supposedly fell in love with Sasuke or did you just want to become a Kunoichi because of Sasuke? How is he supposed to have replaced your original goal? There's also one thing you should always remember about boys too and it's that they're stupid and not really interested in girls as anything other than maybe friends to hang out with. It's only until they get past the age of fourteen or fifteen that things may change to be the way you want them too and you'll only know that, when they stop looking at your face when they talk to you._"

"_Oh,_" Sakura had deflated. She took a deep breath and then asked, "_Can you help me out and point out the things I need to work on in order to catch up to Naruto?_"

"_Just Naruto,_" Akiko had asked pointedly.

"_He's the one that's not the best student,_" she'd answered and received a forehead flick that caused a lot of pain.

"_Don't you ever, dare to underestimate him because he's strong, kind, interesting, funny and a whole host of many things and when he grows up and gains a bit of height, I know he's going to be a heartbreaker,_" Akiko had told her in anger. "_You want to change, well then you'd better think about how you are and how you're acting. Think and use that big brain of yours. Figure it out first before coming to me for any more advice. Now get out._"

Sakura had stared at her angry cousin and then said, "_Thank you for telling this_."

"_One last thing,_" Akiko said before her younger cousin left. "_I lost my foot during the Chunin exam I was taking in Suna. I took a wrong turn and fell into a trap that cut it clean away. Naruto saved both our lives when we were injured, by giving us emergency first aid and then he carried me for hours before we could get to the exit, don't you ever underestimate him or his skills!_"

Sakura was now in her room going over everything that Akiko had told her. She ran through everything she knew and realized that some of the Shinobi skills she'd been developing had dropped when she'd started her infatuation with the last Uchiha. She looked at her kunai set and wondered, '_When was the last time that I tossed or sharpened them?_'

She sat up, went to her desk to look at one of the Academy's old school schedules and winced. She pulled out a piece of paper and began to make a list of skills with a few columns next to them. In the first column she rated the skills she thought she had from one to ten. Then she went to a practice ground to run through her list and found that what she thought she was skilled at, she wasn't. She marked her paper honestly and then made notes in the last column of how to improve.

Finally she made up a training schedule and an eating schedule. '_In order to get stronger I can't be fainting because I haven't eaten_,' she thought. '_This calls for a trip to the library and maybe to the hospital to consult a dietician._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Wednesday after their long holiday, Team Seven gathered on the bridge to wait for the ever-tardy sensei. Naruto had a book of old war tactics on the ground in front of him with a small battered travel Shogi board, while Sasuke had a travel GO board in front of him. They were discussing a particular tactic, when Sakura added a couple of interesting points, which could push the campagne into the favour of the opponent.

Kakashi-sensei showed up, but no one seemed to be making a fuss. He wondered how he'd get them riled up now, if they didn't comment on his tardiness. He'd been hoping to be able to get to use the whole host of excuses saved up over the years to torment his Genin with. Instead he watched as they put away their game boards and waited for him to tell them about their D-Class mission for the day.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(...i...) Rock climbing or Mountain climbing - The method explained in this tale is not completely accurate and should in no way be taken as fact. As mentioned before, "Wikipedia" is a wonderful source of inspiration for little additions to my stories. However if you're seriously interested in learning to climb rocks or mountain, check out your local community for services and lessons.


	10. Chapter 10

**CH 10**

**C-Class Mission: Land of Waves I**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto kept an eye out for the bridge builder that was supposed to come from the Land of Waves seeking an escort home. Actually the man was really seeking Ninja aid in getting rid of some bad elements in the land instead of a true escort because if he truly needed an escort, why the hell did the man travel to Konoha alone.

They were slowly being introduced to the Missions Office procedures by coming in person, now, for their missions. They'd been slowly working together as a team and sometimes the two boys trained together after they'd generally finished the latest D-Class mission for the day.

Sasuke was learning to sense chakra signatures as well as improving his current techniques. He'd learned to hop the buildings of his compound, walk up their sides, over the roof and down others, on both his feet and hands. He'd also learned the hard lesson of ceiling walking while the blond had been around to spot him for the first few times. He'd had some spectacular bruises from falling several times until he learnt the proper amount of chakra to use.

Naruto had studied some of the scrolls that the dark haired boy had asked about. "Too advanced," was his answer for most. However, there were still quite a few that were E, D, and C levels that looked interesting, however there were elemental affinities attached. There were several that were fire based, which the blond already knew the other boy could handle and didn't include his '_Grand Fireball_' technique. He also knew about the boy's lightning affinity, but felt they should all make a show of getting tested whenever that would happen he didn't know.

Sasuke carried two or three of those scrolls to learn during any break time they had and with Naruto's help he studied some of the techniques. He also continued to learn chakra sensing, which had pissed him off the day he discovered that his sensei was never far from them whenever the man was tardy. He'd noticed that the blond only ever reacted on days that their sensei was in the vicinity, not when the man seemed to be truly late for a valid reason.

Sakura's physical fitness and techniques were slowly improving, but without direction her focus tended to narrow too much into one subject. Her latest spiral was shuriken throwing and knife sharpening. She'd eventually found a rhythm, but did not own enough knifes. She'd also made a study of various other tools and had actually found an older student by the name of Tenten on Team Gai, who agreed to help find the one that suited her current personality and stature. So far nothing had come of it.

Naruto had finally spotted the old boozer going into a hotel-tavern the day before. He mentally checked the timeline and knew that this was the day that they needed to do something to get that mission. He pulled out four drawings to bribe the Hokage with. He knew that old man would object, but this is one thing that they could negotiate on.

Team Seven needed this mission to Wave in order to change the team dynamic into something more positive than it had been in the past.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Before going into the Missions Office that day, the one where the blond planned to get that fated C-Class mission, Naruto spotted one of his old Team Eleven teammates and his old sensei. They looked to be hovering or waiting outside building.

"Risa," he called out. He then ran up to greet her. His current sensei and teammates were surprised by the boy's honest happiness. The blond asked, "What are you two doing out here?"

"I came to see if they had a mission outside of Konoha for a while," Risa said. "Tokuma-sensei is going to help me learn what my elements are and then we're going to train in using them."

"But I thought that you didn't want to do that until…" He stopped talking when a small black and white, puppy's head popped out from the front of the girl's jacket. "Awesome, you bonded with an Inuzuka nin-dog. Is this the one you were talking about?"

"It is," Risa said. "This is Akoba (…i…). He's the one that was the closest to my heart."

"Congratulations," Naruto said, while his team watched him socialize more than they'd ever seen him. "Guys come on over, let me introduce you to some really cool people."

Kakashi-sensei nudged his reluctant students. Sasuke was afraid that the girl was about to go '_fan girl_' on him, while Sakura gauged her as another rival for the Uchiha's affection.

"Hyuga," Kakashi-sensei said to the other Jounin, pulling out his porno book to read.

"Hatake," Tokuma said in response knowing that the man didn't quite like his surname. He just did it because it was fun to make the man twitch and growl softly in his direction.

"This is Inuzuka Risa," Naruto told his Team Seven members. "She's the best tracker I know and makes the most awesome bombs. Risa these are; Haruno Sakura, you know Akiko's little cousin," he said that part in a stage whisper that earned him a glare from the pinked haired girl. "These other two are Uchiha Sasuke and our Jounin teacher Kakashi-sensei."

"Wow, that's her," Risa said looking at Sakura. She looked at her up and down and looked back at the blond that had introduced them. "So not how I pictured her from what Akiko said." The she turned to the Uchiha. "Hey, if you want to learn how to make bombs let me know, I hear you're good with fire and that is always a bonus when working with explosives."

Sakura nearly growled at the girl for paying attention to her beloved Sasuke, but she was also upset that the girl hadn't thought to offer her the same. Not that she was interested in bomb making, but to not offer felt like the other girl was ignoring her on purpose.

"So what are you going to do if there are no Missions," Naruto asked.

"Well, we were also hoping that some new Genin team would be willing to let us tag along," Tokuma said with a broad hint, knowing that the blond was curious about his own elements too. "We do need to be outside Konoha for the kind of training we'd need to do, but it's better to have something else to focus on too. We're planning to bribe the team with element testing and primary training, that is, _**if**_ they have excellent control of their chakra. We'd also be willing to be spar partners for Taijutsu practice."

"Perfect," Naruto said and then looked at his teacher, still reading smut, but who was also fully paying attention to the conversation. "Kakashi-sensei?"

The man looked up from his reading, "It'll mean that the pay will be split between all of us."

"I don't care," Naruto said. He looked to Sasuke, who shrugged and also looked interested because he'd developed a lot of control to his chakra. Sakura just looked confused, so the blond pointedly asked her. "Is it okay for them to join us, if we can snag a C-Class mission outside of Konoha?"

"I guess," Sakura said, hedging her answer. "How are we going to get one? You do know that there are no guarantees that any C-Class missions will be assigned to our team because we're still new. People only see us as Rookies and we haven't learned to control our chakra, yet."

"Mah," Naruto said waving off her concern. "What about you two, care to join us?"

"Naruto," Tokuma sighed in a tone that meant he knew that the boy was up to something. "What are you…"

"You'll see," Naruto said. "C-Class mission here we come." He marched into the building, with Risa giggling as her pup growled a question at his bond-mate, asking if the blond was insane. The rest just followed, as though they had nothing better to do or were curious to see how such a request would turn out.

Naruto just walked straight to the mission table, looked at the C-Class missions available, picked up the one for the Land of Waves and handed the old man four drawings that he'd done. "That's eight days of pay you owe me, all unranked too, but I'm willing to let it go for five days worth. Or...," he twirled the mission scroll on his finger tips. "You can let Team Seven take this mission."

"Naruto," his old Iruka-sensei said. "You can't just pick and choose..."

"It's all right Iruka," the old man said, as he looked at the drawings. One was of his grandson catching his first fish. The other three contained his grandson and his two friends that had tagged along with the Genin during boy's supposedly free days to camp and train outside of Konoha. They were cute pictures. This had been done under his direction and in cooperation with the other two children's parents.

"Only five days…" the old man said. "Officially..."

"Yah, yah, but you do owe me for those. Besides if Team Seven can take this mission it'll be the better deal for you anyway," Naruto said. "It'll get us away for a few days, but if you're concerned about our safety... Maybe we could have Genin Inuzuka Risa and Jounin Hyuga Tokuma, come along with us, you know to balance out your concern and maybe give us someone new to train with."

The Hokage beckoned the Genin with the pup and the Hyuga. "You've not been assigned to a new team because you're still in rehabilitation," he told her, as she nodded fully aware of the condition of her hand. "However if you'd like to join them, we'd be more comfortable sending you with a Jounin supervisor."

"I'm used to Tokuma-sensei, if he doesn't mind," she told him. "Naruto's used to him too." The blond nodded.

Tokuma then answered the implied question, "I don't mind. I could use the break and I had planned to aid Risa in her rehabilitation."

Kakashi-sensei held out his hand for the scroll that Naruto held in his hand. He opened it and read the requirements. "Seems simple enough and it will get my Genin out of town for a bit. We accept all conditions."

Tazuna, the bridge builder from the Land of Waves, showed up to the room and disparaged Naruto as he was the smallest of the group, but the man had no choice, but to take what was offered. He could only afford to request a C-Class mission in the hopes that he'd been able to get a high-level Genin team or low level Chunin one. To him it seemed like he was getting a low-level Genin team.

"Everyone go and pack for the trip, we will meet you at the front gates in one hour, Tazuna-san," Kakashi-sensei said, as they all walked out of the Missions Office.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto ran to his apartment to pick up his prepared pack. He only needed to change out of his dark grey and reds, to his dark grey, deep blue and olive green under suit. His over suit was dark grey with small reflections of dark colours that would help him to blend in. He changed his weights to something lighter and more durable for the trek because he knew that he'd need to be faster.

Since he'd already been packed, he raced to Akiko's to pick up his live blades and then to Sasuke's in order to pick up some scrolls for training their elements. He couldn't wait to find out about their elemental affinity because they could begin their training in them earlier.

Sasuke had been packing when he heard a voice that yelled out, "OI TEME, I'M PICKING UP SOME ELEMENTAL JUTSU SCROLLS FOR US TO STUDY WITH."

"DOBE, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT ELEMENTS YOU'RE ALLIGNED WITH," Sasuke shouted back.

Naruto stood in the doorway and said, "That doesn't matter. You said you didn't want to keep your family's scrolls, right?" He watched the dark haired packs his things. "Even so, I'm only going to bring some of the low level ones and maybe a couple of C's and B's for all to share."

"When did you get those," Sasuke asked staring at the Wakizashi sheath on the blond's back and the shorter Tanto one at his hip.

"I was with Team Eleven when I started using the Bokken versions," Naruto explained. "Why do you ask?"

"How did you discover that you preferred them," Sasuke asked, as he shouldered his travel satchel and led the other boy down to the storage area where they'd separated the scrolls by level and affinity quite some time ago.

"The Academy," Naruto said and leaned down to snatch a few of the ones that were simple enough to learn by anyone with an affinity for those elements. He made sure to get diverse ones and hoped that everyone had at least something different from the common ones found in Fire Country.

"The Academy," Sasuke asked. "When did they show other weapons?"

"They had a class that explained all possible weapons that a Ninja could use and that any interested in something other than the basic throwing tools, we'd have to figure out and learn on our own, but they had practice weapons to do that too," Naruto told him. He looked at the other boy trying to remember that day and then snickered, "Oh... I remember when that class was given it was on Valentine's Day."

"That explains it," Sasuke said with a frown. "I refused to attend the Academy on that day." He looked envious of the blades and then asked, "It is too late to test for preference?"

Naruto snorted and said, "Baka, it's never too late. Let's to go to your armoury, I'm sure... wait what time is it?"

"We have about half an hour before '_our_' time is up," Sasuke told him. The blond snickered and waved the other boy to lead the way. In the armoury the blond hunted up a storage scroll specifically made for weapons.

Naruto told him, "Let's load up the scroll with all the Bokken weapons here and we can test your preference as we travel."

"Good idea," Sasuke told him. "By the way are you still wearing weights?"

"Yes," Naruto told him. "Have you considered hiding the fact that you're an Uchiha?"

"Um," the dark haired boy hedged. "I don't know that I want to."

"It's your life," the blond told him.

"Do you think I should," Sasuke asked.

"Well if you ever activate your Kekkei Genkai you'll have no problem proving that you're an Uchiha," Naruto told him. "But you'd still be valuable if you didn't activate it. We've already talked about it, but the choice is ultimately yours." He continued to seek out Bo weapons and found a several pairs of '_brass knuckles_'. "These are cool, can we take these too?"

"My family didn't like to use those because they felt it was cheating," Sasuke said. "Besides we can add chakra to our hits."

"That's silly thinking," Naruto told him. "These would be perfect, especially for any Genin that didn't want to waste their chakra on powering a punch when they didn't need to."

"Pack them," Sasuke said. "You get anything else you think we'll need. I'm going to change and repack my stuff." He ran to his room, removed his shirt and found another that used to belong to his older brother. He removed his '_Clan_' shirts from his bag and replaced them with plain mottled blue and black ones.

"I feel strange without it," he told the other boy who'd been waiting for him on the porch of the main house.

"Here," Naruto held out a pair of light wrist weights and tossed them to the other boy. They were dark blue, but he pointed to the inside and that's when the Uchiha noticed the stitching. There was a clan symbol in them. "They can be added to your regular forearm covers."

"Thanks," Sasuke said looking down to the ground. "Do you think that during this trip I'll be able to gain my Sharingan?"

"How does it activate," Naruto asked.

"Watching someone move faster than normal," Sasuke said. "Sometimes watching battles or fighting and sometimes it'll never activate because it's a rare family trait. Although those of the main house usually gained it."

"Hm," Naruto paused. "There's always a chance that it could. You'd also need to train to use it correctly, if it does activate, wouldn't you?"

"Yes," the Uchiha replied.

"It's too late now to get you a pair of dark contacts, since we need to meet at the gates in ten minutes," Naruto paused. Then he looked at the other boy and asked, "Would you be willing to have a Seal placed on you to conceal your eye colour? I already know you don't want to wear dark glasses or Ninja goggles, but you'll need something to hide its activation, just until we get back to Konoha where you can train safely."

"Will it change my eye colour," Sasuke asked.

"Only if you want it to," Naruto said. "But it will last until we return to Konoha. We can't let it fail while we're out there, but it won't prevent you from gaining your Sharingan. In fact the Seal will act like a pair of permanent contacts, only without the irritation of actually wearing a pair."

"Can you do it," the dark haired boy fished for information on the blond Jinchuriki's skills. "Create a Seal to do that?"

"I can," Naruto told him with a nod. "It's basically a bound Henge and it can be attached to your skin. Any Seal can be set to work under many different or specific conditions. It's what I use on my whisker marks and hair from time to time. I do my eyes too, so I know that the temporary Seal I'm planning for you will work."

"Your hair," Sasuke asked. "What's wrong with your hair?"

"It's too easy to spot," Naruto told him with a huff as they approached the main gates of the village.

"Ah," the other boy said to him. They saw that Sakura was already there along with the other Genin girl, Tokuma-sensei and their client. "Looks like we have to wait a bit," Sasuke said when he didn't sense his sensei's chakra signature.

"That's good," Naruto said, as he sat at the gates and began to make the form of the Seal for the dark haired boy. He drew a few sigils and then added the uchiwa (fan) to it in order to link it to the boy.

"Sasuke," he said after nearly completing the marks on the patch of paper that would release the marking onto the boy. "Where do you want it and did you want to change the colour?"

"Somewhere no one's going to be looking," Sasuke said. The blond nodded his head and then told the gate guards that they were borrowing their weather shelter for a moment. As soon as they were hidden, Naruto told the other boy to drop his pants.

A loud "WHAT!" was heard by those waiting at the gate and one of the Chunin guards snickered because he'd caught the words '_drop your pants_'. He was only going to tell his partner after the group had left.

"You don't want anyone seeing it, so the only place left is on an upper thigh, close to the hip, choose whatever side you want," Naruto told him patiently. "You'd have to be completely undressed for anyone to expose the Seal and don't worry about it getting wet either. There's a built in protection for it. Did you want to change your eye colour too?"

Sasuke sighed and asked, "Can you make them like the dark blue of my shirt?"

"Sure, if you want me to," Naruto told him. The other boy nodded and then the blond said, "Choose the side you want this on, while I finish making the Seal. Just remember once we pass the gates it will activate and stay active. It will only deactivate and disappear once you step past the main gates of Konoha."

"Okay," Sasuke said. "I want it on my left side." The blond boy knelt and waited for the Uchiha to make up his mind. The dark haired boy only exposed the part where the Seal would be placed.

Naruto did it quickly because it was obvious that the other boy was embarrassed for some odd reason. He put the paper on the skin and then pushed a bit of his chakra into it to transfer the ink. "You'll feel it pull a bit of your chakra," the blond to him. "It's what'll feed the Seal until we get back, but if you think it's pulling too much let me know after we've traveled for a day."

Sasuke could feel the Seal tugging on his chakra, but it wasn't like the times that they sparred on the water, so he shrugged it off for now. They rejoined their group in time to see that their sensei had just arrived.

"Everyone's here," Kakashi-sensei said. He received various nods and noises of agreement. "Good, then let's go."

As soon as they stepped outside of the gate, Sasuke barely felt the shift and soon the sensation was ignored as inconsequential. He chose to walk point for the time being in order to learn how to note the dangers in front of him. He practiced sensing chakra and was able to make internal notes on the chakra of the three new people of their group, uh…four including the puppy.

Risa walked next to him with her puppy on the ground shuffling around. She sniffed the air periodically to note her environment. The puppy followed her lead and asked her questions, which were answered in the human tongue. The others had fun trying to guess what the questions were based on the answers.

When they stopped for their first break on the trail, Tokuma took out several slips of elemental test papers. "Risa, take one and put it on the ground for Akoba," he told her. "Has he been able to access his chakra?"

"We practiced that part of it," she said.

"Very well," Tokuma said as he handed papers to the three other Genin. "You concentrate your chakra onto the papers and what happens after the chakra is released will tell you what your elemental affinity is, like so." (...ii...) He held the paper in his hand and then concentrated his chakra into it. His paper crumpled with a very loud DZAP to indicate that his affinity is lightning.

Risa, Akoba, Naruto and Sasuke were eager to find out, whereas Sakura was confused by the process, until her sensei pointed out that she already knew how concentrate her chakra for the Genjutsu that she already knew how to use.

Risa placed one of the papers on the ground and took the other in her hand. Hers barely crumpled with a dzap, after which it very visibly and completely crumbled to the ground. Her pup's burnt and nearly singed his tiny nose. "Wow," she said. "More Earth than Lightning and Akoba's got Fire."

Naruto's had ripped in two and then both pieces turned damp. "Cool," he said. "I have Wind and a bit of Water."

Sasuke did his at the same time as the others. His crumpled with a loud dzap sound, followed a flare, burning the rest of the paper. "Lightning and Fire, but I already knew about the Fire. It's good to know about the secondary element, though."

Sakura eventual managed to put out enough chakra for the paper to crumble to the ground in pieces. "Earth," she told them in a disappointed tone. "I only have Earth."

Tokuma then turned to the girl and said, "It's rare to have more than one element. Usually the indicator of a secondary element can also indicate the level of chakra you have available, however that is not always the case so don't feel down about that."

The pink haired girl still wasn't happy to learn that because it might mean that her chakra levels were not up to the same as the other two members of her team. They were sitting or walking around. Her eyes were tracking the dark haired broody boy of her team when she'd finally noticed that there was something different about him. She'd already noticed right away that he wasn't sporting his white and red fan on his back, but there was something not right about his features.

"EEEKKKK," she screamed. She stood up and ran to him yelling, "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR EYES?"

Sasuke glared at her and said, "There's nothing wrong with them, now keep your voice down are you trying to attract attention?"

"Bu..bu...but, what happened," she said shocked and staring at the dark blue eyes that continued to glare at her. "Your eyes are suppos..."

"That's enough Sakura," Kakashi-sensei said. "The boy can do what he likes. Smart thinking Sasuke, I'M going to assume that if your family's Kekkei Genkai activates, this will hide it, correct?" The dark haired boy nodded. "Well then that's enough excitement for today, how about we continue on our way? We need to travel at least twenty more kilometers, before we make camp for the night."

"Yes sensei," Sakura said in tone that indicated that she wasn't happy with that turn of events.

"Naruto you take point this time," Kakashi-sensei told the blond youth. "Sakura you're with our client and Sasuke you take the rear for now. You two," he looked to the other two that were traveling with them. "Do what you need to do."

"Why thank you," Tokuma told him. The Hyuga had Risa follow the client as he instructed her on the elements she had. "You may have some Jutsus come out of that, but there are many things that can be learned through trial and error too. I don't know how to teach your nin-dog to access his fire, but I do know that he'll learn as you do and will eventually find his own way to use his element." The girl nodded and petted her nin-dog that was now sleeping inside her jacket. "I'll see if I can find you some scrolls that will help you to learn a few E-Level Elemental Jutsus before we begin learning the more kick-ass ones."

Risa laughed and so did Naruto, who could hear the conversation, even from where he was.

Naruto passed by a puddle on the ground and frowned. He did a few hand signs, up in the air when he was stretching and it only looked like he was stretching to the bridge builder and Sakura. Sasuke knew that the other boy was saying something with his hands, but couldn't make it out. They hadn't studied the more complicated hand signal speech of the ANBU or of those belonging to other Clans.

The older Genin girl nodded and signaled for Sasuke to pass ahead of her and that's when the Uchiha sensed the chakra from the puddle he'd just passed. He watched in fascination as the girl explained to her sleeping nin-dog about fuse times and how much fun it was tearing down an old house on her family's compound because many of the members had used that opportunity to vent their frustrations.

That's also when she explained that she'd had fun blowing up the toilettes, but that you'd had to move quickly to avoid getting splashed by toilette water. During her explanation, she'd pulled out one of her smaller bombs. Lit it and let it drop onto the puddle. She ran to catch up to the others as it bobbed there and sunk just a bit before exploding.

Water splashed in several directions as two people suddenly emerged from that puddle, coughing and sneezing. "What the hell did you think you were doing," one the ninjas yelled at them while the other was busy sneezing. "Who the hell drops cherry bombs in puddles of water?"

Naruto was laughing and saying, "That was brilliant Risa."

"I love things that go boom," she said with a grin. Tokuma only shook his head and Kawarimi'd out as a length of bladed ripping chain wrapped around a log that he replaced himself with.

"Guard the client," Naruto told Sakura and watched as she pulled out a kunai to stand in front of the man.

'_Girl needs some other method to protect the man,_' he thought. '_A kunai is not enough against high level ninjas,_' he paused and looked at the ninja's chain stuck to a tree as Sasuke kicked both the men in their heads. '_Which these definitely are not!_'

The two released their chains and split directions. One towards Sasuke, who was able to handle the attack and the other…

The second ninja was running to attack their client. Sakura screamed, but Naruto only flipped through the air, catching a powder bomb that Risa threw. He tossed it into the face of the attacker. He landed facing the attacker in a battle ready stance with his live Tanto blade out.

"Get back," he'd said. "Move to a secure location."

"But I want to help," she said.

"Help by fulfilling the mission parameters and protect the client," he told her in a pissed off voice. "Get him to a secure location, now."

"Think you can take me on little boy," the foreign ninja taunted.

"Baka," Naruto returned. "I'm not here alone, ya know and your friend is already down for the count."

This had the ninja in front of him slightly distracted, but it was enough that when the man's attention was turned away, the blond attacked in a way that ensured that the man's claws could barely touch him. The distraction wasn't enough and Naruto did receive a scratch on the hand holding the Tanto blade. He just switched hands and continued to attack and defend against the man. He'd managed to remove the man's arms guards by severely damaging the man's arms with his double bladed weapon.

Sasuke jumped on the man's back and put him in a sleeper headlock. That ninja had received a number of wounds and had been slowing down. The headlock helped to render him completely unconscious.

Tokuma and Kakashi had just finished interrogating the first one, as the boys took down the other.

"Well done Sasuke and Naruto," Kakashi said coming out of the bush. "Sakura that was good thinking in using that method to protect the client." He praised, as the girl had been clever in hiding the two of them with a Genjutsu while the rest had been occupied.

"You're out of practice," Risa commented as Naruto cleaned his blade before putting it away. "You shouldn't have been hit at all."

"I've been doing other things," Naruto told her. "I brought my Bokken versions to practice with, but the weights in them are too light for me now."

"There's another, larger town beyond this man's home village," Tokuma said. "I was planning to travel there to sell of a few things. I could pick you up another set if you like."

"That'd be greatly appreciated Tokuma-sensei," Naruto said. He pulled out a much smaller knife to open a couple of his deeper wounds to get rid of the poison he sensed in there. The fox's chakra flared to burn out the foreign substance and to prevent infection.

"Don't cut too deep," Kakashi-sensei told him as he watched the boy wrap up his hand.

"Nah," Naruto replied and held out his arm for Risa to wrap white bandages around the other cuts that were healing rapidly under the influence of the demon's chakra. "See," he showed his bandage limbs and did a few stretches. "I'm still good to go."

"All right," the Jounin sighed. "I suppose we should find a place to make camp for the night and far enough away from the garbage." He glanced at the bodies of the ninjas that had attacked them. He looked at their client and said, "We need to talk before we go further."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

In the end they'd all decided to continue on the journey with their client, despite the change in the mission parameters and mission class level, although it was doubtful that they'd get paid any more for it. But it'd look good on their records if the mission level changed to a B or A, even if they didn't get the mission pay for it.

Kakashi-sensei had sighed and said, "His daughter would mourn his death and his grandson would cry."

Naruto snorted, which had earned him a look from his teammates. "It's nothing," he told them. "I get it. We go on, but have to be prepared for more dangers and definitely more attacks. Well that's a good thing."

"Why's that a good thing," Sakura asked.

"We'll be able to do more true ninja tasks other than just practicing it," Naruto told her. "This is a good time to test our skills or our conviction and see if we've chosen the right field to work in." This had made her pause and she knew that she'd be thinking about that for the duration of their trip.

"Hey Dobe," Sasuke called out to him holding and waving a scroll of Bokken weapons.

"Oh right," Naruto said. "Kakashi-sensei, do you know how to test for compatible weapons?" Tokuma looked at the blond, wondering why he'd asked the other Jounin when the boy knew that he'd be able to do that. It was then that he'd realized that the boy was trying to get his new sensei involved with their team and training.

"No I do not," Kakashi-sensei told him from behind his book. "Ask the other Jounin."

Naruto sighed, walked past the man and whacked him on his head with just a gust of wind that just ruffled the man's hair. "I know he can help, but he's not our sensei," the boy said. "You should know that you're going to be disappointed with the ending of your book." Then he turned to his old sensei and asked, "Tokuma-sensei will you help us out please? Sasuke hadn't attended the Academy's weapon demonstrating class and is interested in finding something that'll suit him."

"Sure," the Hyuga replied. "Let's see what you have in there first." He walked to where the Uchiha boy was holding out his weapons scroll.

"Why weren't you at the Academy for that," Risa asked, curious about why a boy serious about being a Ninja would miss such an important class. She joined them and sat nearby to watch her old sensei sort through some base weapons.

Sasuke face barely blushed and he mumbled, "It was given on Valentine's Day. I never went to school on that day."

"Really," the older Genin asked. "Why?"

"Fan girl syndrome," Naruto told her in a whispered tone. "Too many girls probably crowded him to give him chocolates or something."

"You know," Risa said laughing. "They did the same thing with Neji until he put every single Valentine he'd been given in the middle of the school yard and created a bonfire out of them."

"Hah," Naruto said with a grin. "That's what you should have done Teme. You could have used your '_Grand Fireball_' and that would have gotten the point across. I bet the yard smelled good with all that melted chocolate."

"It did," she admitted. "I actually went home and baked a small chocolate cake to eat by myself."

Tokuma had sorted most out and stated, "The pole arms are too long to begin with, but I can see why you brought them. It's good to have a feel for the Katas (forms) that are used when manipulating such weapons. At least you a few shorter staff weapons, which you can practice with." He pointed to the Brass Knuckles and said, "These are a good idea to have too. Try out several pairs and then pick a pair or two that fit your hands and keep them close."

"You too Dobe," Sasuke said, after picking two that were similar in shape.

"Why," Naruto asked, but still testing a few of them and picking out a couple to pocket.

Sasuke sighed and explained, "You said they were a good idea and I know that the weights you're carrying aren't enough for you. Besides, if something like these fit," he show a pair that had a one flat top. "You could carve something in it to augment…"

"I get it," Naruto said and then looked at Sakura that had been hovering and hoping that she'd get a pair. "Teme," he pointed out the girl.

"Ah, Sakura," Sasuke said. "Come and try on a pair of Brass Knuckles. These will help when you don't want to add chakra to your strikes. You can borrow any you like, but after this mission I'll need them all back because they're accounted for in my Clan's armoury." The girl and the blond boy nodded.

"It'll be good to practice with them," Risa said. "We never thought to use something like this, Tokuma-sensei."

"It'll be good to get yourself some like this," Naruto said looking at the girl's gloved hand.

"The doctors agreed, but only after all the rehabilitation is complete," Risa nodded. "That's when they'll know if the hand is weaker that my other one."

"What's wrong with it," Sakura asked.

"It was burnt during our Chunin exam to Suna," Risa said. "The burn was third degree and I'd never noticed it." She wiggled her hand and barely flexed the fingers. "It'll take a long time for my fingers to move like they used to, but at least I can still come up with new bomb ideas."

"That's not very Shinobi like," Naruto teased the girl like he often did.

"Never claimed to be," Risa replied with a grin. "Say did you ever show your new team the new and improved Sexy Jutsu."

"Don't you dare Naruto," Sakura said with an angry growl.

Naruto sighed and said, "As you can see, they're not interested in it, but I did show them the dressed version of my female alter ego."

"Their loss of a great Jutsu," Tokuma told them. "Let me tell you that it saved my life, that and those cloth patches that Akiko created."

"Those are great aren't they," Naruto said. "I can shop in Konoha in complete disguise and actually get fresh foods. I still don't trust their meats, but being able to buy vegetables, fruit and good milk, is just awesome."

"You used his Sexy Jutsu," Sakura said nearly fainting at the thought that a Jounin of skill would use such a perverted thing.

"Yes," Tokuma said. "I was in a tight spot and my only route of escape was through a crowd of people. I'd crossed a street behind a cart, used the Jutsu and the patches change the colour of my clothing. I was able to use the Henge Technique to look like a local and then I calmly walked away from my pursuers."

"Whoah," Naruto said. "I knew it'd work."

"Didn't you invent that because you're just a pervert," Sakura asked.

Sasuke snorted and then asked Risa, "Did knowing about that Jutsu bother you like it does Sakura and most other girls?"

"Nope," Risa said. "Akiko and I had a good laugh about it when we first met as a team. We helped to improve it a lot too and we even did it ourselves, watch." She did the Jutsu and in front of Sakura was a drool worthy boy who was older and more mature looking. "You wouldn't think that this form hid a Kunoichi, which was one of the main reasons we chose to learn it." She let the Jutsu go and became her old self.

"Why would you want to hide the fact that you're a Kunoichi," Sakura asked.

Naruto shook his head and Sasuke blinked at her dense question. Risa only told her, "Think about it."

Tokuma the coughed and said, "Yes, well let's test out a few of these and then pack the rest only leaving ones you'll practice with, out."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

TBC…

(…i…) Akoba – made up name, in no reflects any language of modern man. Think of it as coming from the Ninja Dogs' own language.

(...ii...) Elemental explanation - see: http :/ www dot leafninja dot com/jutsu dot php (you know what to do, remove the spaces and change the word dot)


	11. Chapter 11

**CH 11**

**C-Class Mission: Land of Waves II**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

They'd camped several times on the mainland and now they were crossing a large body of water that had the unfinished bridge. They were all suitably awed by the size and obvious effort it had taken to build it this far. Old man Tazuna puffed up in pride as he explained that this had been one of the solutions to escape the iron fist of the fishing magnate called Gato.

They already knew that they were going to be attacked. They just didn't when or who. Well Naruto did and that's when he tried to figure out if those two would be worth saving. His plans were set, but he still wondered about it. '_First class missing nin_,' he thought. '_One of the seven swordsman of the Mist, are they really missing ninja or rogues? Zabuza a known human demon._'

(…_Human demons don't exist…_) Kurama told him.

(…That's what humans call people that they consider very dangerous…) Naruto told his own demon. (…He killed the entire graduating class of the Mist Academy, before they'd changed their ways. It was not only that, but he'd never even been enrolled in that Academy to begin with…)

(…_Their ways included getting rid of their soldiers?…_) The fox looked at him. (…_That wasn't very bright of them…_)

(…No it wasn't…) Naruto agreed. (…Seems they only wanted the strongest of their students to pass, but because that had happened they'd had to change their ways…)

Kurama's presence faded as they neared the shore that they were getting to. The demon always seemed to know when he could talk to the boy and when to leave him to move about in peace. They were about to land on the opposite shore close to where the village was. They'd planned to travel in a roundabout way because that had been the only way to travel in order to avoid the attention of Gato's mercenaries.

There was one mercenary that had a bit more pride and was quite willing to attack some poor leaf ninjas in order to kill the real prize. '_That bridge builder is going down,_' the swordsman thought. '_He might have passed by the weaker ninjas under Gato's influence, but he won't get by me._'

The swordsman Henged into his apprentice's, white rabbit pet and had been hopping along and watching the group move ashore. He Kawarimi'd out with the true poor animal as a kunai landed in front of it. The poor creature was startled into a temporary paralysed state before it decided to hop away from the area of danger, after it had been returned to the ground.

'_It was the blond kid that threw the kunai,_' he thought, as he observed their progress. Suddenly he was paralysed and couldn't move from his current location.

There was also a blade pressed against his neck and the voice of one of the boys, obviously not his Haku's, who said, "A future death on the unfinished bridge for Momochi Zabuza, due to contract failure in killing the bridge builder, not that Gato was ever planning to pay you, and your death is caused by fighting against the Konoha ninja. There's death for the swordsman's apprentice Haku, sacrificing his lift for his most precious person. After which the Konoha ninjas take out all of Gato's forces and are hailed heroes in the Land of Waves. You can't move because of a Jutsu. There are many choices before you. You can choose to not fight, to fight in the future at a later date or fight those below right now. The future I've mentioned does happen after you heal from the injuries that you'll definitely be receiving, if you choose to fight this group now."

"I have no choice, right now," Zabuza said. "I'm being watched and not just by my apprentice."

"We can fix that," the boy's voice said. "The fight will be a good exercise for the Genin below to participate and witness. It will also let our sensei show us what he can do and let us show him what we are capable of."

Zabuza was released from the strange Jutsu that had left him temporarily immobile. '_**We can fix that**__,_' the swordsman thought. '_**You have many choices**__, hmph. I can only take action on the one choice for now. Later I'll see if you can really fix this._'

The large bandaged sword sailed through the air and imbedded itself high into a tree, the swordsman made his impressive entrance. '_The show has to be a good one,_' Zabuza thought. '_Let's what they can do, now who had the...ah little Blondie's the one with the blades, hm, interesting?_'

"Guys," Kakashi-sensei said, as he stood upright. "Guard Tazuna." He lifted his Hitai-ate to his forehead and revealed the long scar that bisected his left eye. In opening that eye, one of his Genin gasped because the sensei's eye contained the Sharingan.

"What," Sakura said. "What is it Sasuke?"

"He's got a Sharingan eye," the dark haired boy said.

"What does it do," Sakura asked.

"It's a form of ocular Ninjutsu," Sasuke explained. "It lets him penetrate and see beyond any illusion or spell to the reality behind it. It can reflect those things back to their caster, but there's more to it."

"That's right boy," Zabuza said. "You're pretty smart kid. The Sharingan also allows someone with it to learn and duplicate their opponent's greatest skills. You're well known Konoha ninja, as _Kakashi the Mirror Ninja_ or the Copy-Cat Ninja, Hatake Kakashi."

"I know of you too Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi stated. "You're one of the Mist's Seven Swordsmen, from the Elite Assassin's core of Kirigakure, also known as the Demon of the Mist."

"Very good," Zabuza said. He leapt from the tree, taking his sword with him and landed in a pool of water nearby creating a splash and then suddenly he was on top of it in a formation that indicated that he was about to do some kind of Jutsu. "Let's see how you handle Kiri's Ultimate Jutsu, Silent Killing Mist."

"Damn," Kakashi-sensei said. "He's built up a lot of chakra to use that."

"Use what," Risa asked.

"A mist forming jutsu," the Jounin explained. "A tool for him to hide in and attack," he looked back at them and said, "Don't worry. He'll come after me first because I'm the harder target."

The mist surrounded, them getting thicker and thicker. Then they heard a creepy voice saying, "There are eight targets," there was a licking sound like the smacking of lips and chuckle, followed by, "Throat, Spinal Column, Lungs, Liver, Jugular Vein, Sub-clavian Artery, Kidney, Heart." These words were repeated a couple of times to up the creep factor, when the question was asked. "So many choices," the voice giggled evilly. "What vital, vulnerable place should I choose?"

Tokuma and Risa were on the left and right side of the client while the three younger Genin were is a triangle formation in from of the man. The mist hid their fears and panicked expressions, but suddenly there was a rise in killing intent that had Sasuke feeling twitchy. It was that like that horrible day when his family disappeared.

"Sasuke," Kakashi-sensei told him. "Calm down, even if he gets me, I'll still protect you." He looked back at his team and grinned. "I'll never let my comrades down."

Naruto knew that this was a crucial moment, but with two extras around to help, he used hands signs behind Tazuna's back in order to give Tokuma and Risa instructions to grab the bridge builder's arms and haul him backwards at his signal.

Then he repeated the eight vulnerable parts of a body in a low tone, increasing his own killing intent. "Hm," he paused dramatically and pulled out his Wakizashi blade. "I choose, Jugular Vein."

This was the signal because at that moment Tazuna was pulled away from the area of the other three Genin. Sakura was nudged to the side and Sasuke was pushed forward, by their sensei.

Naruto struck with a precision that surprised his sensei when the boy had dodged the move that would knock him out of the way. His Wakizashi sword went through the swordsman's neck, through the jugular vein, as he said it would. The ninja collapsed in a splash of water. The blond spat and said, "Suiton Bushin."

Kakashi-sensei had been surprised at the move, but he didn't let it phase him, as the rogue ninja made another move to attack him. He had a kunai to that ninja's throat and then out of the mist another body appeared behind the copy-nin. This person kicked their sensei into the water.

"Shit," Naruto said racing to get his sensei out of there. "Kaka-sensei, get out of there now." He skidded to a stop, just at the water's edge.

"Wah," Kakashi-sensei said. "This feels too heavy to be water."

"Smart kid, but too late," Zabuza said, as he finished his jutsu to form the water prison. He switched places with a couple of water drops in order to bind the Konoha Jounin inside a thick water bubble that strangely didn't seem to drown the man or suffocate him. He had one hand in the prison to maintain it, but there was nothing that the Jounin could do to get out of there at the moment.

"Another water bushin," Sasuke said, as the thing collapsed back to the ground after Naruto's second attack. He turned to Sakura, their client, Tokuma and Risa. "Get him out of here."

"No way," Sakura said. "Those who leave their companions behind are worse than trash."

"Then you three get under cover," Sasuke said as he pulled on a pair of brass knuckles that Naruto had carved very minor seals on them. Those markings allowed an element to pool on the surface of the knuckles. The seal allowed an element to be added to a hit, but they were element specific seals, which meant that the dark haired boy had to be careful which pair of knuckles he put on. In this case he chose the ones stronger against water, which was lightning.

The blue-white light of the lightning appeared and in surprised move the swordsman took a shocking hit to his abdomen and dissolved to reveal another Suiton Bushin. "Damn," the dark haired boy said. "Missed the kidney."

Naruto had been attacked by another Suiton Bushin, but the water clones were only there for one purpose that was to prevent the Genin from freeing their sensei. The swordsman was also having a laugh at the because of it.

Pissed off, Naruto called forth ten Kage Bushin and attacked the water clone. As several of his clones were knocked back, he tossed a large folded shuriken to Sasuke, who'd been knocked the ground from his last attack. In a slight of hand move, he pulled out his own folded shuriken and expanded it in front of him.

"What are you going to do with that toy, little boy," the swordsman sneered at him.

"Demon Wind Shuriken, Windmill of Shadows," Sasuke said and launched the large four bladed weapon in the direction of the clone, but it veered away and aimed for the swordsman Zabuza.

The clone reacted by looking back in confusion, but then it said at the same time as its original, "At least you had the sense to zero in on my true form." Zabuza caught the oversized shuriken and said, "Amateur."

However the man was shocked to note that there was a second oversized shuriken flying towards his lower half and Kakashi thought, '_He used the Art of Shadow Shuriken!_'

Zabuza jumped high to avoid the second weapon, when he then noticed that everyone was looking at something behind him. He glanced back and was surprised to see the little blond brat throw three kunai and several smaller shuriken at him. He was forced to release the water prison in order to avoid the flying blades, but he'd forgotten that boy had a sword of his own.

The missing-nin had thought that the boy had fallen into the water, but the blond was standing on the water's surface and had attacked him with both his blades. He barely dodged the slicing motion to his side and side-stepped a lunge from the other hand that held the Tanto blade.

Zabuza was about to throw the large shuriken still in his hand, when that motion was stopped by the boy's sensei's fist.

"Thank you Naruto," Kakashi-sensei said. "You'd better get back to the shore and help to protect the others." The gray haired man then looked sideways to the Demon of the Mist. "You're dealing with me now."

Naruto knew that there was someone watching from the trees and that that person would attack, if he did anything further. Even just acknowledging that they were there would change the outcome of this encounter. Despite the fact, he had given away the fact that he knew there was a second person in the area because of the death prediction he'd given the man.

He ran across the water, avoiding his sensei and the swordsman. He chose to run to his teammates and from there they all watched from a distance the battle that was happening with the water.

"You keep an eye on that action Sasuke," Naruto said. "Let me deal with some of your wounds."

"But what about," Sasuke looked at him and noted that the blond just shook his head. "Tch, fine," he said and looked back at speed that the hands were moving in creating the hand Seal for the Mist's new Jutsu Technique. This one looked like it was going to be a big one.

"Oh my," Tokuma said. "I've never seen that technique before. I heard about it, but have never seen it."

"What's it called Tokuma-sensei," Risa asked. Everyone on the shore was riveted by the mirrored actions that were taking place. They could see the doubt in the swordsman's eyes. Was the Jounin really just copying him or...

"Water Style: Water Dragon Missile," the two on the water said at the same time. Two dragons of water formed and attacked. Since two elements were the same and two identical techniques were used the result was a large water splash that knocked everyone off their feet and hosed most of them down. The water quickly receded back into its preferred channel, only to be called upon again.

'_Something isn't right,_' Zabuza thought. '_This shouldn't be happening. All of my gestures...All of my moves...He sees..._'

"Through all of them," Kakashi finished the thought for the man.

"Oh this is gonna be good," Naruto said softly, as he finished wrapping the last wound from his teammate. "Talk about psychological torture in the middle of a battle. Zabuza's trying to figure it out. His doubt is growing and it's like his hands are moving just a fraction slower. Keep watching Sasuke, you're about there."

"How can you tell," the other boy whispered back.

"Your chakra," the blond explained in a hushed tone that the others couldn't understand. "Raise it slowly to your eyes and hold it there as long as you can. You've practiced this, I know you have."

"How could you possibly know," Sasuke said.

"Its power isn't it?" Naruto said with a sad tone. "It's what you want, how else to gain more skill and ability than to cheat and get it through something that basically memorizes and plays it back for you as needed."

"It's a Clan thing," Sasuke hissed back. "You wouldn't..."

Naruto squeezed the boy's shoulder and said, "I do know. We'll talk about pride and revenge later. Look at them now and learn something of what the Sharingan can really do."

Sasuke eyes hadn't left the battle and as much as he wanted to defy and deny the other boy that he didn't want to know right now, the truth was that he did. He wanted to see something like this so bad that he nearly missed the point of realization that the swordsman was seconds too late in his hand signs.

"Water Style: Giant Waterfall," Kakashi concluded the Jutsu before the other man.

Zabuza was hit with a vortex of flowing water that battered his body. He flew backwards into the water and then out of it. His back was slammed against a tree and he was suddenly pinned there with kunai sticking out of ever limb and some in other places. He was still alive and he had to ask, "What...can you see the future?"

Kakashi held a kunai and looked at him from his softly whirling Sharingan eye. "I predict your death."

Two senbon needles flew out and hit the swordsman in the neck. Eyes blanked and the large man fell forward, unmoving to the ground. Everyone heard a giggle from higher up into the trees and when they looked they say the figure of a child in a white mask with red swirls on it.

"Hee, hee," the child giggled. "Your prediction came true."

Kakashi jumped down from the tree limb he'd jumped onto in order to avoid being tossed by the water too, to feel the man's neck and he thought, '_He's really dead_.'

The child bowed and said, "Thank you for your help. I hope you don't mind the interference, but I wanted the satisfaction of putting that man out of his misery, myself."

"That mask is familiar," Kakashi-sensei said. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't you a Shinobi Hunter from the Village Hidden in the Mist."

"Aren't you the informed one," the Hunter replied. "Indeed I'm a member of the Elite Tracking Unit from the Village Hidden in the Mist. It is our responsibility to hunt down rogues and outlaws."

'_Judging from his size, height and voice,_' Kakashi thought. '_He's not much older than Naruto or the other two on my team._'

'_He's already a Shinobi Hunter,_' Tokuma thought. '_This kid is not your average ninja child_.'

'_Hunter,_' Risa thought. '_Damn, we can't do anything because he's technically stronger that the two Jounin here, most definitely stronger than that Zabuza._'

Kakashi-sensei could tell that the arrival of this new ninja didn't sit well with his students. But it was the sad truth that he shared in a commiserating glance the other Jounin from Konoha.

"Are we just going to let him do what he wants with that man's body," Sakura asked. "He can't just…"

"Sakura," her sensei stopped her rant. "You'll need to get used to the fact that there are sometimes people in this world that are younger than you, but are stronger than me." He gave her a look that said to let the matter drop. The pink haired girl only sighed and nodded.

The Hunter boy drop from the tree he'd been standing in and landed next to the body he was there to claim. "Your battle is over," he said. "Now I must dispose of the remains, lest it gives up secrets to our foes."

The boy easily hefted the larger body onto his shoulders and then left the area in a swirl of leaves. "Well he's gone now," Tokuma said. "What should we do… Kakashi," he yelled as the other Jounin collapsed after having covered his Sharingan eye. "You idiot!"

"Tokuma-sensei," Naruto said in a questioning tone.

"It's nothing," the Jounin said. "We need a stretcher to carry him. Did any of you bring one in scroll?" He received negatives headshakes from the Genin. "Well then Risa you know what to do, get to lengths of wood, approximately even in size. Naruto, I know you brought an extra length of canvas, so pull that out and we'll make the stretcher to carry this useless lump to Tazuna's home."

The two Genin complied, while Sasuke and Sakura were tasked to recover any of the thrown weapons from the area before meeting back at the clearing with the others. They came back to watch how the canvas was rolled into the lengths of wood and made a very serviceable stretcher to get the fallen Jounin to their client's house.

The four Genin then had to take a corner each and then immediately learned how to synchronize their pace so that they didn't jar their unconscious teacher. "Ne Tokuma-sensei," Naruto said. "Are you and Risa still going to that other town beyond this one?"

"Yes," Tokuma said. "I have personal commissions to do there, plus it'll give me time to look into those Bokken practice weapons for you. Were you thinking that you'd need something else?"

"No," Naruto paused. "I don't think so. I still have a lot of stuff that we picked up during our last travel to Suna… Can I think about it?"

"Sure," Tokuma replied. "We'll stick around until Sleeping Beauty wakes up." The Genin and old man snickered at that. "I'll even coach you in some E-Level Elemental Jutsus, if you like."

"We'd appreciate that," Sasuke said immediately. "When you said you'd help, I brought along several scrolls from the Uchiha Clan coffers to share with you. I'm hoping that you'd be able to break down a few of them for me, since someone…" He said this pointedly, without indicating whom he was talking about, but that was given away by soft snickers coming from the person beside him. "Refused to explain many of the techniques until my chakra control had improved some more."

"There's a reason for that too," Tokuma said.

"What," Sakura asked, curious as to why chakra control was so important.

"Elements are wild," the man began. "Those with low chakra reserves are lucky in the sense that they can learn to control just how they need to put out in order to complete certain tasks. Now that doesn't means that there's no way to increase those reserves, but because they naturally have smaller amounts they're more aware of its loss and guard against it more."

"How do you increase your reserves, sensei," Risa asked.

"Exercise," Tokuma said. "Increase in body strength, speed and health, will help the body to open the chakra channels more and the area holding the reserves will expand. Practice and daily use will also do the same thing. It's the lack of use that will atrophy the channels."

"So we'll begin by learning the base spells or jutsus at E, D, & C-Levels first," Sasuke said with a small pout.

"It's best to find the spells or jutsus that call out to you," Tokuma said to the boy with a smile. "There's always the chance that you can't learn the low level elemental jutsus because of the amount of chakra contained within you. If you have some E-Level spells that just don't work for you, that could be one of the reasons."

"Hm," the dark haired boy just noised as he turned away to think about that.

Tazuna's daughter greeted them and then guided them to the two rooms that they'd be sharing for the duration of their stay. She was able to diagnose Kakashi as just being exhausted. She ordered her father and Tokuma to remove most of the Jounin's gear and then shooed the children down the stairs for a hot meal before telling them to bed down for the night.

The two girls took the smaller of the two rooms and left the men to room with their unconscious teacher.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The next day Tokuma spoke to Naruto alone and asked, "Do you want to do that paper test again?"

Naruto looked slightly shocked and then shook his head. "Nah," he answered. "This is enough. Why do you ask?"

"Naruto," the man looked at him. "I've seen you light a campfire under impossible conditions, remember. I know that you have a few more elements under your belt."

The blond boy rubbed the back of his head and said, "That's not quite it sensei." He looked at the man and said, "Please don't tell anyone. Its…kind of part of that technique I'm working on and not really based on the Elements, as you know them. It really is different and the fire thing, well that was something I've always been able to do because of you-know-who."

"I see," Tokuma said. The he handed the boy a small pouch. "As promised a few of the more interesting coins and a couple of complementary gems for you and your dark haired friend." The blond looked at the man quizzically. "We were always '_quid pro quo_' as a team. Nothings changed, it's a thank you for those scrolls."

Naruto grinned and said, "You got it. Hey, can you look for some dark knuckles for us or else some dark arm and leg guards, you know the kind of metal that can channel elements."

"Sure," the man said. "Pay me, if I can get them, give me the measurements." He was handed a scroll. "Promise me that you only practice the low level stuff on the water and away from anything of value like someone's home."

"Promise," Naruto told him. Then he turned to his old teammate and said, "Safe journey."

Risa hugged him and then handed him another pouch. "Remember to raise all your elements for these," she said with a knowing look. "Kick that shipping magnate's ass if you see him."

"Believe it," Naruto said with a grin. He watched them leave and then tucked his gifts into two smaller storage scrolls. Now was so not the time to bring them to the light. "Teme," he called to the boy in the nearby tree. "We're going to need to practice on the water, some distance from the bridge and village."

"Agreed," the other boy said. "What do we do about her?"

"Sick Kaka-sensei on her," Naruto told him. "He needs something to do other than read that smut while he's recovering. He can teach her chakra control."

"It's time for breakfast," Sasuke told him. "Maybe Kakashi will be awake after that."

After breakfast they were all around their sensei's futon wondering what to do. Sakura had been tempted to lower the man's mask, but Sasuke's comment of it being disrespectful and rude to their teacher stopped her in her tracks.

"Naruto, you're usually up for something like this," she commented. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"I happen to agree with Sasuke on this one," the blond said. "It's rude and disrespectful to our sensei. If he wants to reveal his features he will." The pink haired girl just blew a gust of air out of her mouth in frustration that the blond was now becoming kind of dull to be around.

"I thank you boys for that," Kakashi-sensei said, trying to lean up onto his elbows, but he fell back onto the pillow. "What happened?"

"You covered your Sharingan eye and collapsed," Sasuke said.

"The Hunter left with the body," Sakura continued.

"Tokuma-sensei and Risa left this morning," Naruto said. "They're going to another port town to see what they can learn about this Gato guy, plus have to take care of a few personal commissions for their families."

"Tokuma-sensei did show us how a few of the low level E and D Jutsus should work," Sakura said. "Although he did say that I'd have to learn better chakra control before I can even think of trying any C or B level spells."

"What about you boys," Kakashi-sensei asked, trying to sit up and this time succeeding. "What levels did the Hyuga recommend for you?"

"The scrolls were mainly for the Uchiha family," Naruto said. "I have all the Wind and Water spells since I'm the only with those two affinities. Sakura received mostly E, D, and C Level Earth spells, including Risa, but she also got a couple of the low level lightning ones because of her minor affinity in it."

"Tokuma-sensei told me to hold onto the higher level Earth spells until the girls learn the lower ones," the other boy explained. "I gave a couple of Fire of E and D level Fire spells for the dog to learn, but I don't know how that will turn out. They were duplicates anyway, I told Risa to keep them. I kept the rest of the Fire ones. I gave some duplicate lightning ones to Tokuma-sensei because he showed us that he had that affinity."

"Wait a minute," Kakashi-sensei said. "Go back to the beginning, what was that about the Hunter?"

"He took the body with him," Sakura said. "Why, is that bad?"

"Very," Kakashi sighed. "It means that Zabuza is still alive."

"WHAT?" Nearly everyone said.

"Hunters have a specific function within a Shinobi society," Kakashi-sensei explained (…i…). "Some have a very specific function, to ensure that none of a ninja abilities or techniques can be revealed by the dead. They generally have the code name '_Undertaker Squad_' and are some of the most trust by their Kages because their purpose is to dispose bodies so completely, it's at though they never existed."

"Why," Naruto asked, even though he already knew. He still had to play Genin with Team Seven and this was a logical question for someone his age.

"Ninja corpses tell too many tales," Kakashi-sensei told them. "Even after death, a Shinobi corpse can reveal many things. Secrets kept, abilities learnt and how they were learnt, as well as containing and retaining the steeped chakra from the land of origin. Not only that, but anything that they may have consumed in their lifetime can be reveal down to it's base ingredients, like exotic foods to deadly poisons."

"That's bad," Naruto commented. "That's really bad."

"Why," Tazuna asked. He was present in the room to help monitor the health of the man that had helped him to get home.

"For example, if I was to die," Kakashi-sensei said and earned a choked sound off to the right where Naruto was sitting. He looked at the boy, who'd quickly moved out of his sensei's line of sight as though he was embarrassed, but the man suspected otherwise. "If I was to die and an enemy had taken my corpse, my body would tell them every anatomical idiosyncrasy unique to those who possess a Sharingan eye. The worst case scenario would be that the enemy could learn and master its power."

"So the role of that kid," Sasuke said. "Was to make sure that nothing remained of Zabuza."

"That means that Zabuza's corpse should have been dismembered and destroyed," Sakura said, thinking about it. "Eww, gross! That's so creepy."

"What makes you think that that Zabuza guy is still alive," Tazuna asked.

"Think about it," Naruto said in an automatic response to get his team to think. He nearly slapped himself as they all looked at him. He rolled his eyes, "If the kid was supposed to get rid of the body on sight, what did he do?"

Sakura replied, "He carried him away."

"Think about the weapon used to kill him too," Kakashi-sensei said.

"Senbon needles," Sasuke said with a sigh. "Hitting different places can induce nerve paralysis, instead of death."

"Good," their sensei told them. "Also, if you hit certain places on a body and the body can imitate death for several hours, even fooling those of us that should have been aware of it in the first place. Although why Tokuma didn't, surprises me."

"He was concerned for our client," Naruto explained. "I'm sure he's already realized the problem, but at the time he was instructing on how to transport you, take care of your wounds, plus our own and in getting out client to safety. He did say that he'd try to make back by the end of the week, considering that the town with were going to was no more than about a day away, as the ninja goes."

"The nearest town is three days away," Tsunami said.

"Not for ninja," Sakura said. "They can augment their travel by using specialized techniques. It really will only take them about a day to get there more or less."

"I see," the woman said.

"Don't worry they'll be back in time to help us against that Gato guy," Naruto said.

"You're gonna die," a small boy said, drawing everyone's attention to him. The boy looked very young and stubborn. "You're all gonna die if you go up against Gato and his men."

"Pah," Naruto said. "That man's nothing, but a blow hard. Without money to pay for anything, he's just another man wailing at the world."

"You're an idiot if you go up against him," the boy said.

Naruto put his hands behind his head and said, "So…I'm an idiot who'll win and you're just brat that cries when nothing in the world goes your way."

"Naruto that's not fair," Sakura said.

"You wanna be a hero," the boy, Inari said. "Heroes die. So you're gonna die if you go up against Gato."

"I'll be exception to the rule," Naruto huffed crossing his arms. "You'll see."

"Don't expect me to bury you," the boy said,

"Wouldn't be your responsibility to do that in the first place," Naruto told the kid, who huffed and was about to leave the room.

"Where are you going," his mother asked him.

"To my room to watch the ocean," the boy said and left them.

"Please excuse my grandson," the old man said with a saddened expression. "A man he respected passed away because of Gato and his men."

Naruto left them to go find the kid and talk to him, like he'd done in the past. He didn't need to hear the story of the man's passing again. Not that he ever heard it the first time around. He needed to hear the crying boy. Human emotions needed to be heard in order to be acted on and he knew that hearing that boy's plea for his lost father would motivate him and help him to relive the life he'd be given a chance to relive.

"Daddy," the boy said as tears poured down the kid's face as he watched the ocean.

'_Yeah,_' Naruto thought. He smelled the salt of human tears and knew then that he was on the right path once again. '_Now, what to do about Zabuza? What should I do about him?_'

(…_Kill that Gato guy and install Zabuza as the one to take over the business for the man_…) The fox told him.

(…I really can't see a ninja swordsman taking over a business…) Naruto said with a chuckle as he pictured the ninja with a frustrated look on his face dealing with the paperwork that normally came from large working in a large business.

(…_Then you do it, get that Gato to sign over everything to you and you run it from the shadows_…) The Fox told him. (…_You'll have access to money and you can fix many of the things that that horrid man did, plus you can hire your own enforcer_…) The image of Zabuza and his apprentice flashed in the boy's mind.

Naruto blinked as the fox left his awareness to let the boy younger ninja think about it. '_I was kind of getting bored with this slow learning_,' he thought. '_I wonder, if the old fox is able to see the plans that I've already put into motion?_'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(…i…) Near direct quotes from the manga, Volume 2 – in no way is this my idea and I make no claim to its origins. Kakashi was the best at explaining it.


	12. Chapter 12

**CH 12**

**C-Class Mission: Land of Waves III**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The idea of taking over Gato's empire appealed to the time-traveler in the sense that it would occupy his time and mind. It would also ensure that his organizational didn't go down the toilette until the day he became the Hokage of Konoha. Not only that, but he'd learn a lot more in dealing with underworld figures and that would in turn teach him to deal with the moron Danzo and his poor attempts to take over Konoha in conjunction with Otogakure and Orochimaru.

'_How to go about that,_' Naruto wondered. '_I wonder if Sasuke would know because he's technically the Head of his Clan, so he has to be learning something about that...But I don't remember him doing anything of that nature in the past either._'

(..._A regent or proxy..._) The fox said.

(...Zabuza can be my proxy and he can have Haku come to Konoha for any instruction to the running of organization...) Naruto thought about it. (...Anyone that Zabuza can trust to run the company without gouging the people in the area would be the best. I already have several doing the things I need and I bet that there are few more '_missing-nin_' that'd be willing to hide in retirement instead of battling for a town or village that they don't believe in or that don't believe in them...)

(..._Exactly, but be careful Gaki..._) The fox told him. (..._You should be present for some of those contract dealings and trust your gut in the matter of who runs what..._)

(...I know, I've done what I could so far. It'll take a few more years to get people to live properly again, but I know that some will continue to live in the shadows and their vices will control them...) Naruto said.

He'd seen a few Shinobi fall into the path of drugs, drink and debt. It wasn't pretty. The ones that were security risks, as Hokage, he had to call for the Hunters to take care of the issue, in the same sense that Haku was supposed to have done with Zabuza.

"Okay," Naruto said, coming to a decision. '_Now is the time for me to make special paper with binding Seals to prevent Gato from ever attempting to reclaim his position or his companies. I know that Kakashi-sensei is going to want to stay until the bridge is completely built so we have weeks to take over the last of the coastal companies, but to get that fat lump to sign over everything to me...I'm going to need some specialized paper for the markers to be turned over to me._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The following morning Kakashi-sensei announced that in order to be ready for Zabuza and his apprentice, they were going to begin training.

"Training in what, Kakashi-sensei," Sakura asked.

"Chakra control," the man said with a grin. He carefully watched the exchange between the two boys. Sasuke looked at the blond with a raised eyebrow and the other boy only responded with a shrug.

It was the pink haired Kunoichi that asked the question, "How are we going to do that?"

Kakashi was still watching the boys as he said, "We climb trees."

Naruto grinned at the black haired boy, who scowled and then asked his sensei, "Can you teach us something else?"

"Hm," the man said. "I might, if you can prove to me that you know how to climb trees. I believe that someone was supposed to have taught you '_catchra control_'. If you're ready, we'll go now." He moved slowly as he had no choice, but to use a pair of crutches to support himself because he was still slowly recovering from his chakra exhaustion. He took them to a clearing in a nearby forest and said, "Well?"

Naruto shrugged and walked up the tree. Sasuke did the same on the tree next to the blond boy. They both reached a halfway point, walked over the branch, took a step to turn upside down and then they looked at their sensei. The man had watched them with a surprised look on his face based on his wide-eyed look and the **O** behind the gray mask.

"That's how were you were able to sit on the ceiling of the classroom," Sakura shrieked at the blond. "You cheated."

Naruto huffed and said, "What part of me being a Genin for _**two**_ years escaped your notice Sakura. Of course I'd already learned '_chakra control_'. We basically need it before even attempting the Chunin exams, which you already know I've attended once."

Sakura gulped and then asked, "How did you learn, Sasuke?"

"I asked Naruto to teach me," the dark haired boy told her. The two boys walked down the trunk of the trees, when he continued. "You should have also noticed that when Naruto attacked Zabuza after he released Kakashi-sensei, he was walking on the water like they were."

"What, why," Sakura said. "How?"

"It's chakra control," Sasuke told her. She only snorted like she didn't believe it.

"Oi Sakura," Naruto called from a short distance away. "As soon as you've the water walking down, I'll show you how to skate without ice." He was on top of a small stream sliding on the surface and jumping over the rocks in it. The flow of the water didn't affect him because of the way he was using his chakra.

Sasuke ran up to him and said, "Spar!"

"Bring it," Naruto stood in position waiting for the other boy to land and attack him. They did a few Katas separately and then brought them together in a repeated sequence until they were going all out at a speed that the poor girl knew she had no hope of achieving unless she seriously changed the way she trained.

"Well it looks like I have some catching up to do," she said with a scowl. She was angry and turned that anger onto her sensei. "Teach me now!"

Kakashi-sensei's attention was brought back to the waiting girl and he said, "Very well. Take a kunai to mark your progress. Focus the chakra at your feet, maintain and control it so that you have the right amount in order to do what you want."

It didn't take the girl long to understand the concept and climb the tree. She came back down and noticed that the boys stopped their sparring from time to time to do stretching exercises or to consult a scroll that one or the other would pull out. They'd go through more moves and then begin their spar again with the new moves being added to the forms they've been practicing. The speed at which they did their spar annoyed her because it was so fast that everything they did was blurry.

Kakashi had been watching them and was itching to lift his Hitai-ate in order to see and learn those moves. Unfortunately, if he did that he'd be stuck with a longer recovery time. He then turned to look at the face of his third student and noticed that there was a fairly ugly look of jealousy on the young girl's face. "Keep practicing until you run out of chakra," the man told her. "You need to know your limits before we can move onto something new. After which, you'll tell me what you train in, how long you train or study, from there we'll come up with a schedule for you to follow."

"What about them," she asked, before turning to climb the tree in front of her.

"I'd have to see what they're doing first," the man told her. "I don't know what each of you does after I dismiss you, but I've unfortunately assumed that you all continued to train in the standard forms, as well as any you've learnt to prefer. I was mistaken, as it looks like the boys have moved up quite a few levels beyond the standard Academy forms you were taught and they look to be at least low-level Chunin in Taijutsu."

"But the Academy taught us what we needed to know," Sakura said walking back down the tree.

"No," Kakashi-sensei told her. "The Academy is a place to gauge a person's determination in following the Shinobi path, but it does not allow for much more than base E-Level and very few D-Level learning in all things. Those that make or pass the Genin secondary test are those that will go further as Ninjas. They'll be of use to the Hokage as Shinobi warriors. Once you're Chunin, secondary or tertiary training can be obtained in specific fields, like administration or medicine. Sometimes Chunin are known as the secondary defence of a village, but in no way are they even close to the low standard coming out from the Academy. Other Ninja levels, such as; ANBU, Hunters, Jounin or other specialists are the primary forces that help the Hokage do what he needs to do in order to maintain peace."

"The Academy never explained any of this," Sakura said.

"The Academy is young," Kakashi-sensei told her. "It was born in a time of peace. The Hokage and the Village are still trying to learn how to live in such times. So far it will only ever teach the basics and the only way to change what the Academy teaches will depend on what the community wants and doesn't want to see."

"No children fighting," Sakura said. "There'd probably be fewer now that would graduate early, like so many we've heard about. If they did, they'd probably have to be monitored, much earlier to prevent something like what happened to the Uchiha Clan, huh?" She was watched the two boys move away from the river, but it looked like they were hunting something in the forest. "Should they be going deeper in there?"

Kakashi-sensei didn't say anything, but he summoned a small pug dog, pointed in the direction that the other two were traveling and said, "Stay with the boys until the sun begins to set and then get them back to our client's house."

"All right," the dog said and walked off.

The Jounin turned to the girl and said, "You're not done, continue your climbing until I'm certain that you've exhausted most of your chakra."

"Yes sensei," she said and walked up the tree one more time.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"Oi you two," the pug called to the two boys he could see were talking, as they leaned to look at something close to the ground.

"Yes Pakkun," Naruto answered absentmindedly. "The root of this plant is good for a food supplement, but that one over there, may look similar, but it's bad. We can gather some of the good ones for Tsunami-san when we begin to head back."

"How did you learn this," Sasuke asked.

"Trial and error," Naruto said. "We also had a lot of D-Class missions that involved weeding and taking care of some greenhouses for clients. I asked the clients questions, those that didn't mind them answered them. I remembered what some of them told me and wrote most of it down after the mission."

"Interesting," Sasuke said. "Now what was the tree you were looking for?"

"A cherry birch," (...i...) Naruto said. "There should be a few around here, plus I really need these plants, if you see them let me know, but don't touch them they're venomous." He handed the boy a scroll with a piece of coal.

"What's this for," Sasuke asked.

"To make notes of where you find the plants," Naruto said and he showed his teammate that the scroll was made for making notes, without destroying the original contents. "The information is Sealed in the scroll. There are protective layers over the information that allow for notes to be taken and retained for a short bit of time. It's like the waterproof maps we had at the Academy."

"All right," Sasuke said, pulling out a compass. "We'll meet in a couple hours to see if we've found anything?"

"Good idea," Naruto said. "Pakkun, did you want to rest here? We could use you as a location to come back to."

"I'll follow the Uchiha," Pakkun said. "I don't like the smell of cherry birch and neither does Kakashi, so make sure you wash before we meet."

"Two hours then," Naruto said and turned west. Sasuke and the pug dog turned east to search for the plants that the blond needed for some purpose he hadn't explained yet.

A couple of hours later Sasuke had found three of the five plants that Naruto had been looking for. He'd made the notes on the scroll. He didn't mind that the dog had followed him, because the dog talked and answered whatever questions the dark haired boy had about animal summons.

They met a sawdust covered Naruto and gaped. The blond looked at the dog and said, "Sorry Pakkun. I needed to cut one of the trees and break it down."

"What did you use," Sasuke asked, as he handed the boy the scroll with the notes he'd made.

"Wind Style: Axe Takedown," Naruto said in an exhausted tone. "It's one of the E-Levels that I've been able to understand quickly. It forms a single axe out of Wind. The rest is simple chakra control and knowing how to use an axe to chop wood."

He demonstrated using a '_sucker_' sapling that was growing too near another tree and taking the nutrients that the tree needed to continue its growth. A couple of base hand signals and an axe of green elemental wind appeared in front of the blond's outstretched hand. A quick flick of the hand and the axe aimed for the base of the sapling. One slice, the little thing fell down and the axe disappeared.

"I had to call it forth more than once," Naruto explain. "I'm just glad that I had enough empty scrolls to store the wood of the tree in it."

"You took the whole tree," Sasuke asked. "What on Earth for?"

"Hi...mi...stu..." Naruto smiled with a wink and put a finger in front of his mouth, as though to say quiet, but actually meant '_it's a secret_'.

Sasuke huffed and then followed the boy in collecting the herbs that he'd found. He kept well away when he noticed that the blond was using thick gloves, cover pots and a special snipping tool per family of plant. He was curious, but kept his distance until they returned to collect the tubers that they'd found for their client's daughter.

"You boy's need to return to the client's house," Pakkun said. He herded them, as best he could, but in the end they arrived in time to have a meal and then go to sleep. Their sensei dispelled the dog summon.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

That same night Naruto sent out five Kage Bushin to seek out some empty barn, farm or warehouse, general a place that he could use to manufacture the needed paper and ink in order to build the contract paper he needed. The paper he knew how to make had changed and increased with his knowledge of the Fujin Seals and Fujin Watermarks. The Seals will bind the man or men to the conditions of the contracts and confine them or destroy them for failure.

'_Not that I'd tell anyone about that, unless they've proven their loyalty,_' Naruto thought with a fox-like grin.

It wasn't long after some internal planning that he felt the first of his Bushin come in. It confirmed that there was an empty farmhouse and field to the north that looked to have been unattended for many years. However there looked to be footsteps in the area of it that looked fairly recent.

The second found an abandoned warehouse in the next town over, about two hours away from there, as the ninja flits through trees. '_Too close to here,_' Naruto thought. '_But that might be an ideal town to settle a few of the missing-nins to monitor this area and prevent another person like Gato from trying to take advantage of the people_.'

The third came back with two warehouses in the larger port town, nearly six hours away, but close to where his clan's old village was founded. It was called Uzushiogakure or Village Hidden Among Whirlpools. '_This looks like an ideal place to relocate the Headquarters,_' he thought. '_It might also just be the best place for me to re-create the village and keep it hidden until it can stand on its own feet again. I might just go be first Uzukage there after I retire from being Hokage of Konoha._'

The forth came back without much information other that the suspicion that the suspended structure in the nearby forest was the hideout that belonged to Zabuza. It was there that it noted the watchers of the missing-nin, '_A bunch of summons,_' the blond thought. '_Well there's no way that I can approach the man, but maybe there'll be a way to speak to Haku about it._'

The fifth one died when it crossed paths with another ninja. Only this time it was another missing-nin of a very unfriendly nature. This clone had chosen to disguise itself, as most of them did when they were scouting among other people because it was stupid to do otherwise. The blond was able to get a good look at who Gato was and the men he chose to surround himself with.

Naruto formed two more clones and sent them out to see if the two warehouses of the that port town were available for purchase of for claiming, depending on the name needed to possess them. They were probably the only option he had in order to get the paper he needed to transfer ownership made. The plus side about that town was that the clones could purchase better law books and books about writing laws, which would help the blond in forming new legal and '_binding_' documents.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Three days later Team Seven were training in other formations of Taijutsu and what Kakashi-sensei could teach them of Kenjutsu, the technique of the sword. He knew quite a bit because he'd possessed his father's elemental Tanto blade for many years until it broke during a particularly nasty mission.

He also helped to improve the way the punched things in order to get more effective results from the brass knuckles that they'd '_borrowed_' from Sasuke's scroll of weapons. He looked at the marks that Naruto had made on the pair that the black haired boy had used against Zabuza's clones.

"Don't use them too often with elements," Kakashi-sensei told them. "It was a good idea, but these weren't made to hold an elemental force in them and are likely to crumble or wear down faster because of it."

"I suspected that already," Sasuke told the Jounin. "I just figured that they could be used on this journey and that I'd be able to purchase something that will hold an element once I get back to Konoha. Unless you know of a larger town nearby that can supply us with better equipment."

"Nope," Kakashi-sensei told him. "We're here to do our mission and then we return once the mission is complete. We do not look for other places to shop around for supplies. Now, time to continue with training."

Naruto only shook his head at the black haired boy and signed, '_Don't worry about me, my supplies are coming soon._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto had sent out Kage clones with enough chakra in order for them to carry out specific tasks. Namely making the paper that he wanted. Getting the contracts all drawn up and hunting down some low rank missing-nins that just could be swayed into moving, enforcing and aiding some of his newer businesses to change their practices.

Gato couldn't truly maintain his focus in the Land of Waves because some strange and new company, which had the logo of a fox, had bought many of his businesses out over the past two years. They weren't the big businesses, but he felt that something fishy was happening somewhere else. However this had been going on for quite some time. It was just noticeable now, as some of the loan sharks that he owed money too were slowly selling his markers to someone unknown entity.

The short greedy, pompous, ass stopped by to taunt he favourite toys, a couple of missing-nin from Mist, living in some kind of conical tree house. "So you two have the nerve to show up here," the man sneered. "How long do you think that you can keep this up? I hired you to do one job, not lounge on your keesters."

He had two bodyguards with him of a samurai nature. They were large and carried swords at their hips, but these two were mean and mercenary. The type that Gato loved to boss around because he was the one with the funds and money paid for a lot of things. He was short in stature, so bossing taller man usually made his day.

This time he walked up to the bed where Zabuza was laying in and was about to touch the missing nin, when Haku grabbed the shipping magnate's left arm and broke it. "Don't defile Lord Zabuza with your filth."

There was a snick, sound which indicated that swords were about to be drawn. In a moments decision, the thoughts going through Haku's head was, '_I knew they were going to do that._'

In a quick step, chakra enforced, he moved too fast for the guards to see, pulled their swords and held them up against their necks. He told them in a voice of ice, "You don't want to do that when I'm angry."

The old man moved away and said, "Th…There had better be no more mistakes. I'm going… I..If you fail again, don't think that you can come back here."

Gato and his group left the area quickly and paid no attention to the local wildlife that watched him walk away with their beady eyes. A small squirrel of tan brown colour, chittered at the noise the men were making and then it hopped to the window to chitter at the ones inside the building.

The one on the bed said, "Haku…There was no need for you to…"

"I know," the pretty looking boy replied. "But it's too soon to finish off Gato. If we cause a commotion where we are we might find ourselves on the run from **them** again." He looked at the squirrel on the window ledge in confusion, as it suddenly threw a nut at him.

Zabuza turned in the direction of the boy's gaze and noted that the eyes on the animal flashed in human blue. A blink later they were back to small beads of black and the animal poofed out of existence when a Shuriken cut of its head.

"Let me see that nut," Zabuza said. Haku put it on bed and turned it around when asked. The missing nin chuckled and then said, "Use one of your senbon to crack it open. Do it gently."

Haku frowned, but did as asked. Once the nut was open, he gasped when he saw a tiny scroll growing in size. He backed away, never having seen that message delivery technique before.

For some reason, this struck the Demon of the Mist as funny, "Heh, come back a read it. I have a feeling that a choice has just been dropped into our laps, literally."

Haku approached it and did a few tests to make sure that there was no trap attached to the paper. He unrolled it and read it out loud, knowing that no one was watching them at the moment. "_Greetings Dead Men. Want to change your fate, agree to a meeting. I'll name the town when the apprentice fetches some healing herbs for the rogue. PS: I'm going Gato._"

"It's signed Blondie," Haku finished.

"The blond kid," Zabuza said. "I knew that there was something different about him."

"What do you want to do?"

"You'll agree to the meeting," the Mist Rogue said. "I think that there's something interesting in the works here. Gato was quite sweaty and not quite so confident here, as he normally was."

"The contract we have is specific though," Haku said. "The head of the Bridge Builder for free passage."

"We're ninja," Zabuza said. "There are always ways to get around a contract that badly written in the first place. That man has no honour, but that kid is different. I can feel it, so I want to know what he has to say."

"As you wish," Haku said with a smile, pleased to be doing something for his Master.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Clones, clones everywhere and not one of them ever hesitated to do what they need to do in order to change things in the Land of Waves. Bit by bit, ever since the old man, came back into the past the lives of some people in this water filled land have changed for the better. Those that used to have it so good through dirty deeds found that they're lives were the ones falling into the crapper.

Naruto hadn't been elected Hokage for nothing. He may have been kind like Sarutobi, but he was also ruthless when things needed to be done, he barely ever hesitated to give the killing order. He had fought in wars and maintained peace for decades before that last war that sent him back to change a few things. Still it was good to know where the money was buried in order to make use of in this timeline.

This time as soon as his clones came in with after successfully having purchased of several banks, the warehouses seen and a few more bits of land. The blond boy knew that a couple of clones were traveling in his direction and that they were under cover. They carried all papers of ownership, where the owner is Kitsune Company Limited.

'_Now's the time to make the paper,_' Naruto thought. '_I'll have to use that abandoned farmstead nearby, but now that I own that property, it should be fine._'

He created about fifty clones to convert the barn and install the papermaking items needed to make the special Fuuinjitsu paper he needed in order to create a few bonding contracts and blank summoning scrolls. '_Why not make more just in case they're needed,_' he thought. '_I hope that I don't regret this._'

Every time twenty-five popped back, he'd make another twenty-five to take their place.

Kakashi-sensei suspected that the boy was using his chakra much more than the others, but didn't say anything about it. He was curious, but felt that the boy couldn't be doing anything wrong, although his nin-dog had reported to him about the plants and tree that the boys had been looking for on the day that he'd trained Sakura in controlling her chakra.

Sasuke was sort of aware that Naruto had been sending out clones into the night, but he didn't question the boy. He figured that he'd tell them in time. That was something he'd learnt from having been taught chakra control and from the physical training he now continued to do. He did know that the blond was using them to learn most of the base spell for his elements. He was doing the same.

Naruto's clones were not the only reason his chakra reserves were depleting quite so fast. He was using them to learn a few elemental spells. This was what he told Sasuke. He'd taught the black haired boy how to make Kage Bushin and then said, "You can use them to improve your learning, but since you might have less chakra than me, promise you won't make more than two or three."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto was lying in the clearing waiting for his encounter to happen with Haku, but he fell asleep. The encounter was pretty much the same. The boy, Haku, wore something that looked like a dress. The blond sighed, knowing that the other was just looking at him, rather than waking him up like he'd done in the past.

He sat up and looked around. "Hey," the blond said. "You know…you're prettier than a girl. Anyway…" This was fallowed by him standing up, yawning and stretching, "Tell your precious person to meet me in the next town over, house with red roof."

"Why do you fight," Haku asked.

"To protect my people," Naruto said sitting back down to look at the boy's downcast eyes. "You?"

"I have someone precious…" Haku looked up and noted that the boy wasn't quite so young looking around the eyes. "You know…"

Naruto shrugged. "What I know and how people react or act to what I know are different things. I may have a strong idea of what'll happen. I also have a strong idea on how to prevent from happening, depending on the conditions of you employment to Gato."

Haku swallowed.

Zabuza had told him that he could tell the blond whatever he wanted in relation to how they were associated with Gato. '_Who knows…_' the missing nin had said. '_Maybe Blondie can think up a plan to prevent the future that he told me about_.'

"We were to bring Gato the head of the Bridge Builder," Haku said. "We were to prevent the bridge from being finished."

Naruto paused and then grinned. "Okay," he said. "I'll see if I can talk them out of finishing it too soon and that'll fulfill that. So how good is _he_ or _you_ at Henge?"

"What," Haku said.

"Hm," Naruto said. "Think about it and we'll discuss this at our next meeting. Let me help you gather some of these for you."

"Thank you," the boy said. "Why would you help us?"

"Allies come in many forms you know," the blond said. "If I can prevent needless deaths, then I'll allies I can trust…" He looked at the other boy and qualified that with, "For a while at least…right?"

"Heh," the dark haired girly looking chuckled. "Well we are ninjas."

"True," Naruto said. "I'm also looking for a teacher, know of anyone who's a Master in Kenjutsu."

Haku looked up shocked and then he couldn't help, but genuinely smile in response to the impish grin that he was receiving. He stood up, brushed the grass off of his clothes and said, "I'll be seeing."

"You betcha," Naruto said with a wave.

Sasuke walked into the clearing as a person was leaving and he thought, '_Was Naruto talking to that girl?_'

"Neh, Sasuke," Naruto said calling the other boy's attention. "Prettier than Sakura or no?"

"Definitely," Sasuke answered honestly. "Prettier any of the girls in Konoha."

"I thought so too," Naruto then told him. "But that's a boy by the way."

"Damn," Sasuke said and then he turned back to the blond. "I take it that you're rested now."

"Yep," the blond answered and called forth two Kage Bushin. The Uchiha did the same and listened as Naruto showed him how to get each bushin to learn a different element scroll, instead of all learning the one scroll. "The Bushin are you and all you have to do is give them a different scroll to study to learn twice the amount that you'd normally learn."

"Is there a downside to that," Sasuke asked.

"Of course," Naruto said. "When they dispel you get all the information downloaded at the same time and if you're not ready for it, it be jumbled and harder to put in order when you meditate. So only dispel one at a time and process what they've learned before letting the other one go. It won't matter if they didn't succeed on the first try because whatever they've figured will make it that much easier for you in the future."

"I get it," Sasuke said. "Is that how you learn things?"

"Only some things," Naruto said. "I do physically train because my body has to be able to keep up with the things that I know."

"That I can understand," Sasuke said, feeling the weights on his wrists. "How long have you been using weights?"

"A long time," Naruto said. "You can't get a clone to do that for you either. So they're the best for book learning, elements and other spell type Jutsus. My body has to learn the Taijutsu and other physical techniques."

"I see," Sasuke said. "All right." He turned to one of his clones and handed three E-Level lightning scrolls and then three D-Level lightning scrolls to his other clone. "Lightning is stronger than water, so learn these." The clones nodded and stepped to the other side of the clearing to study the scrolls and the practice.

Naruto had done the same with the four D-Level water spells. "Water cancels water, so let's see what we can do," he told one of the clones. "You take these wind ones."

The blond then turned to his black haired rival and teammate. "Spar?"

Sasuke shook he head. "Taijutsu practice in kickboxing and boxing."

"Good idea," Naruto said. He pulled out another scroll, same as the Uchiha. They talked through some of the positions and then practiced them before sparring full out.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Both boys had arrived at the Bridge Builder's house leaning one another. They were nearly completely exhausted. This had shocked Sakura, their sensei and their hosts. They both collapsed on at the table, laying on it with a satisfied smile of well-earned exhaustion.

Naruto smelled the wet salt water associated with tears. He glanced around and thought, '_Ah. Time for that speech, I wonder, if I should…well the kid rouse up the sleepy village._'

"What wrong," he asked the boy. (…ii…)

"Why," the kid sniffled. "Why are you pushing yourself so much? No matter how hard you work or train, you'll never be a match for Gato's thugs. They're much stronger than you. You can act all tough and cool, but guys like that are too strong and they will always destroy those that are weaker."

"Shut up," Naruto said. "I'm not you, so I'm not going to die because some thug can't take me on by himself."

"Just watching you pisses me off. You go runnin' your mouth off when you don't know a thing about this town or land," Inari shouted. The tears were really flowing now. "You don't know a thing about me. I see you laughing and having fun, you don't know what it's like to suffer or feel lonely or anything about my life."

It was almost like the rest of the people in the room heard an audible snap.

"So," Naruto said in a very harsh, serious tone. "So you think…it's all right to star in this sad soap opera and that everyone around has to pity you and agree that everything is hopeless because you say it is? It takes a really big man to sit around and cry all day. You're just a whining brat and cry-baby!"

Sakura said yelled, "NARUTO YOU WENT TO FAR." She only got '_Hmph_' in response.

The look on the blond's face had shocked the boy out of his tears, but not quite out of his current mind-set that everyone loses to those that are stronger. The boy gulped loudly and watched the blond leave the room with a stubborn set to his shoulders and his hand were in his pockets.

Later, Inari was sitting at the water's edge. It was a dock that nearly surrounded the boy's house. "May I join you," the Jounin sensei asked and sat down when the boy didn't say a word. "You know Naruto's kind of a brat too, but he's not that bad. He wasn't trying to be mean or hateful, he just doesn't know how to properly express what he's saying sometimes."

Kakashi-sensei looked at the boy, who seemed to be thinking about it. "Tazuna-san told us about what happened to your father… Naruto…well he never knew his father. In fact he doesn't even know who his parents were. He doesn't have anyone and he didn't have any friends either."

"Re..really," Inari said.

"Yes," Kakashi-sensei said. "In all the time that I've known him, he's never once cried or use his own loneliness or whatever troubles he has as an excuse to sulk or be a coward. He's always trying his hardest and that's why _HE_ is the more experienced Genin on my team, despite the way he acts. He worked so that he graduated two years before his teammates in there."

"Does that mean that he had other teammates," the boy asked.

"He did," Kakashi-sensei said. "He had another teacher too. When push to shove he saved his old teammates and then had to placed with new people. He basically had to start all over learning to trust them and gaining their trust in return. He's still trying to prove himself to us."

"Including you?" Inari looked at the one-eyed man. "Why did he have to prove himself to you?"

"I didn't know him," the Jounin confessed. "I knew what everyone knew about him and believed him to be as he always was. This mission is changing a lot of that. He only ever wanted someone to see and acknowledge him, that's his dream and that's why it seems like he risks a lot. I also guess that's why he doesn't cry…I think maybe he got tired of crying."

"He does understand you and more importantly, I believe he knows what it means to be strong. He knows the costs and knows it's worth it, just like your father, Kaiza, did," Kakashi said. "That's probably why he can't leave you alone. You've managed to get under his skin."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(…i…) Cherry Birch – completely made up, as I do not know if something like this exists or not.

(…ii…) See volume 3 – conversation mostly re-interpreted or near copied to push this story forward.


	13. Chapter 13

**CH 13**

**C-Class Mission: Battle of the Bridge**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

In a small hut with a loft room, three people met. One was listed in all Shinobi Bingo Books as a rogue ninja...a missing ninja from the village Hidden in the Mist. Another was a boy that could easily confuse others regarding his gender because of his delicate feature. The last was another boy. This one is blond, brash and known as the demon-child of Konoha.

"Hiya," Naruto had said when he entered the hut and held up his hands to indicate he wasn't hold a weapon when he was faced with a sword point, nearly nicking his nose. "Whoah, easy there big guy," he said. "I'm sorry I'm late, but I need to get dodge a few nosy ninjas."

"Hmph," Zabuza said from seated position. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"Can't," the blond said. "I think of too many things at a time and can process quite a bit. So what are you really asking?"

"What do you want from me," Zabuza said putting away his sword. "Sit down."

Naruto pulled out a pouch that contained only three scrolls. He handed that to Haku that had been hovering on the man's right side. "Those three contain options," the blond said. "Read them and see which one you'd prefer to do. I'm not talking about anything long term, but short term, maybe six months to a year or two, that's all."

"That's all, he says," Zabuza sneered, while the other boy read through the scrolls and gasped. "Haku?"

"These are quite thorough," Haku said handing one of them to his Master. "They're binding aren't they?"

"Of course they are," Naruto said. "Can't have people turn against what I'm doing here, now can I? However, I choose not to have people linked to me that way for the rest of their lives, that'd be wrong. So yeah, they're all short term."

Zabuza's eyebrow-less, eyes were wide as he read through the conditions of the first scroll. The first one was a base '_Enforcer_' contract with scenarios and expectations of the position. There was not much to this one.

The second was more of a '_Regent_' and Enforcer under the direct head of Kitsune Company Limited, who's position was to seek out those that could fit with the mission statement that the company had first began with.

The third was more Hunter-like for Kitsune Co. Ltd., including along with the Enforcer title to maintain the status quo for the businesses run by the people hired by the company. This one was more specific in taking down those that failed their contracts or betrayed their bonds.

"Interesting," the man said. "How am I supposed to travel through the regions?"

"How have you done so in the past," Naruto asked. "Don't you know how to Henge or disguise yourselves?"

"I'm the Demon of the Mist," Zabuza said. "I never attended any type of school for this shit."

"Hm," Naruto said. "How about a trade...of skills?"

"What are you talking about," the man asked.

"Master in Kenjutsu," Haku said with insightful awe of the blond before him. "You want help in Kenjutsu and are willing to exchange skill information?"

Naruto shrugged and then noticed that the other two exchanged looks. "Up to you really," the boy said. "The Company is legit and so are the contracts and bonds that most of the workers are under. However, I'm only a Genin from Konoha and I can't visit every place in the Land of Waves to ensure that things run smoothly."

"How long have you been working to nail Gato," Zabuza asked.

Naruto made a show of counting on his fingers, before the grinning toothily at the man and saying, "About two years, give or take a month or so."

Zabuza grinned widely from behind his mask. He looked at his apprentice and said, "You choose the one you want." Then he looked at the blond boy and asked, "Are the islands in the Land of Waves going to become a hidden haven of the missing?"

"Well you know where that Shinobi village used to be," Naruto said. "You know, Hidden in the Whirling Tides. There's nothing wrong with the land nearby. Nothing says that another Shinobi Village can't grow from the ruins. Especially if some arrive under bonds or choose loyalty to the land and area for once." His blue eyes flashed.

"What do you mean," Haku asked.

"Why are the big villages doing so well, while others seem to struggle in petty power games," Naruto asked.

"They care about the people and the land," Zabuza said. "I've always noticed that."

Haku nodded and said, "So have I." He turned to his Master and said, "I like the second and the third one."

"Vicious little heart," Zabuza said in a tone that sounded fond of the boy. "What do you think?"

"I can write it up on the fly," Naruto said. "It will be binding and you'll be stuck in these lands for a couple of years though. I mean never to move beyond the borders until the contract is finished."

"Our own kingdom," Zabuza said with an evil sounding laugh. The dark haired boy sitting next to him just smiled. "Will we be able to protect it however we wanted to?"

"Within reason," Naruto told him. "If someone required killing, I wouldn't be against it. I'd only take exception if the ones following the parameters of their contracts died and didn't deserve it."

"What happens when all contracts are completed," Haku asked.

"The people are fully free," Naruto said. "No more obligations and the Land must learn to live without someone at its helm. I figure in about two years, they'll have forgotten about Gato. Five years after that the Kitsune Company will be forgotten as other businesses will be given a chance to rise."

"What about the Kitsune Company," Zabuza asked.

"Defunct and the name locked under legal terms to never be used for the next two hundred years," Naruto explained.

"The idea of the Shinobi village among these islands," Zabuza asked.

"Well there are several small islands that are currently under the possession of Kitsune Company Limited," Naruto told them. "A few are actually unoccupied and are of a comparable size to Konoha."

"You establish a new village in this land and I'll be..." Zabuza stopped as his boy's hand was placed on his arm. He looked over at the youth that he'd picked up to be his '_tool_' and '_weapon_' against his enemies. "We'll your ninjas."

"You know that's a dream that may never happen," Naruto said. "I do know that I'm going to be the Hokage of Konoha. Why don't you do it?"

"Paperwork," Zabuza said in a scornful tone. "I'm not made for paperwork." Haku snickered behind his delicate looking hand.

"No ninja is," Naruto said with a grin. "Find someone trustworthy then."

"If I do, you're vetting them," Zabuza said. The blond shrugged at that. "Protect what land?"

"The Land of Waves, of course," Naruto said. "It may seem like a small country, but if you add an island here and there, it's no longer that small."

Haku then asked, "How do we get fulfill the contract we have with Gato, if we don't know how to Henge for long periods of time?"

"You don't have to do that," Naruto said. "What is your contract?"

"Prevent the bridge from being built," Haku said.

"Bring the head of the Bridge Builder to Gato," Zabuza said.

"Ah," Naruto said. "I'll be right back, give me a moment." He stepped outside, wrote on a small two inch square piece of paper. He activated it and then came back into the hut carrying Zabuza's dead head. He tossed it onto the table, startling the true Zabuza and Haku.

"What the..." Zabuza said, looking at it closely. "Now that's an interesting trick."

"Very," Haku said. "That's fascinating, what is it?"

Naruto pulled off the square paper and revealed the log under it. "What do you think? I convince the old man to hold off the completion of his bridge, but still make it look like there are workers on it, just in case, someone's looking for something that changes the conviction of the people."

"I'm interested," Zabuza said. "Haku?"

"Yes," Haku said. "We can continue to live somewhere nearby and do what we're good at."

"All right," the missing ninja said. "We'll take sign the bond and take your contract, now let's talk tasks..."

Naruto grinned and began to explain some of his plans.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Chakra exhaustion had finally taken its toll on the blond Jinchuriki of Konoha. He'd been able to convince Tazuna and his teammates not to allow the workers on the bridge, but to make it look there are workers there.

"Please Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said. "Please don't take action unless attacked. Promise me...all of you promise me this or I'll find a way to stay awake."

"Naruto you know, that..."

"NO," Naruto shouted. "Don't ruin it, please...Sasuke trust me...don't attack, there will be others...to test our skills..." He faded and drooped, "Please honour my pact with the miss..."

Kakashi lifted the boy and carried him to the sleeping pallet. He took pulled the scroll from the boy's hands and read the contents. "Naruto...what have you done?"

The boy's eyes suddenly opened to the red of the fox and the graveled voice said, "Honour the boy's pact, you'll not regret it." The eyes were about to close, but then flew open. "Leave the kit alone too."

"What the..." Kakashi said to the fact that the Fox, the one confined within the boy had spoken to him. "What kit?" He watched, as a swirl of purple chakra rose from the boy's stomach to reveal a young fox, no taller than a quarter of the blond's leg. The little fox sniffed at him and then curled into the boy's arms, as the blond curled around the small form protectively.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Tokuma and Risa raced against time in order to complete their commissions for the clans. It had been a rare opportunity, but now they needed to race back to the village of the bridge builder to help their ex-teammate out. They knew of the boy's plans when a clone had found them and told them about it.

The finished up where they could, knowing that they could return to pick up the last of their orders. They arrived back in Tazuna's village to drop their things off at the Bridge builder's house and to discuss plans that Naruto had been able to convey clearly to them.

The Bridge Builder shooed his workers home and was going to be protected by Sakura, while Tokuma and Kakashi discussed a few things with Zabuza. That was the best they could do.

Zabuza said, "Blondie told me to call forth the mist which would effectively hide a few things, like the fact that I'm not killing any of you. We can make it look flashy to those that don't any better which is pretty much the sum of Gato's forces."

"Why have you changed your plans," Tazuna asked.

"Naruto is very interesting," Haku told him. "He wants an exchange of service."

"Quid pro quo," Risa said. "We were always like that when we were a team. What's your favourite weapon?"

Haku held up several senbon needles. The Inuzuka girl perked up at that.

"That's something we never really trained in," she said. "Can you give some instruction?"

"Sure," the boy said. "What would you like to know?"

"Everything," Risa said with her pup yipping in agreement. "As much as you can tell us now, until short stuff comes to save the day."

"Very well," Haku said. "How about we talk over there," he indicated the area where the pink haired Kunoichi was. The girl with the dog nodded. The Uchiha boy followed because he was interested in listening to what that girlish looking boy had to say about such a simple weapon.

Zabuza watch his boy sit in a circle surrounded by others nearly his age and begin an explanation on the use of senbon for acupuncture and as a take-down weapon. He smiled behind his mask and then turned back to the conversation, well argument actually happening between the two Konoha Jounin.

"Trust Naruto," Tokuma said. "He's your Genin for Kami's sake, you should trust him when he says that some things can change."

"But has _IT_ ever talked to you," Kakashi asked. "You know what I'm talking about."

The Hyuga sighed and said, "Once." He rubbed the back of his neck and then said, "It did once, but there were no threats from it, no...nothing."

"What did it say," the one eyed Jounin asked.

"Let him sleep," Tokuma said. "He was exhausted from training and we were about to move, when it woke up and said, '_Let him sleep._' That's it. There was no evil chakra, no murderous intent, nothing, but a simple request to let the boy sleep. So we stayed for where we were for another four hours when Naruto woke up naturally and then we continued on our way home."

"You never reported it because it's not on the boy's file," Kakashi said in an accusing tone.

Tokuma only lifted an eyebrow, cross his arms and said nothing.

"Yah," Kakashi said. "I don't think I'll be reporting this either." He looked to Zabuza and asked, "I think you should call up the mist now and then tell us how to give the enemy the impression that we're fighting."

"We train using only kunai," Zabuza explained. "We pretend to call up our elements and let them see the clash."

"You two do it," Tokuma said. "I'll train Risa."

"Haku," Zabuza called out. "Use senbon against the boy's kunai, train in forms and make it a bit flashy. Explain it to the kid." The kid in question tossed a Shuriken at the head of the missing ninja who only caught it and tossed it back. Haku caught by sticking a senbon needle up and letting the star spin before it lost its momentum.

Sasuke huffed and said, "Let's do this."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto woke up to the warmth of the little fox on his neck. He petted the kit for a moment before he sat up and looked around. "Damn it," he said. "They left without me."

The blond human boy raced to get dressed, as the fox kit leapt into his stomach to get back to the cage that held his grand-father. He raced to put on his under and over suits. He made sure that he had the appropriate clothing patches that would help convert his regular wear into the articles he needed to pull off the biggest take over known to Wave Country.

Before even stepping down the stairs he heard the commotion coming from below him. The two samurai bodyguards were causing trouble for Inari's mom and for Inari. The blond stepped out of the bedroom window and witnessed the boy stand up to the thugs.

Naruto grinned, created to clones and then jumped down. He used Kawarimi quickly to get the boy's mother out of the clutches of her would be killers. "Well, done kid," he said. "You kept them occupied enough for the hero to arrive on time." He leaned in and stage whispered, "Heroes always come in the nick of time, dontcha know?"

"Nick of time," Inari asked confused.

"Yep," Naruto said. "Just in time to save your mom, see." He point to the woman that was no longer tied in ropes, as the two thugs destroyed a piece of log that had taken her place in their arms. "Hey, guys," he said to the thugs, pointing behind. "You should watch out."

"We're not falling for that," the first ugly said.

The second one replied, "We're not that stupid."

"Apparently you are," Naruto said, as his clones attacked both the men and knocked them out. "Suckers!"

"How did you know," Inari asked.

"They talked loud enough to wake the dead," Naruto told the boy. "Anyway forget about that. Look…about what I said…um…I owe you an apology."

"Why?"

"I called you a baby," the blond said rubbing the back of his head. "It's not true, okay." He put a hand on the boy's head and said, "You're a big strong boy."

The '_big strong boy_' started to sniffle and then he couldn't help it. Tears fell from his eyes and he said, "Ooo, ooh, nn..no. I pp…promised myself that I wouldn't cry…nn..now you're going to make f..fun of me."

"No way," Naruto said in a serious tone. He put both hands behind his head to tug at his hair to keep his face serious and then he grinned at the boy and said, "There's nothing wrong with crying when you're happy. That's the way life is…"

Inari looked at the blond in wonder and received a genuine smile. The blond turned away from the boy to give the kid a chance to compose himself. The boy thought, '_Wow, Naruto I wish you were my big brother._'

"Now," Naruto said. "I have to get to the bridge or else my plans to free the Land of Waves will all fail. You'll be all right here now, won't you?"

The boy wiped his tears and then said, "Yeah."

"Good," Naruto said and took off, hoping that he'd get there in time to…well do a lot of things.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto raced to the bridge, knowing that they shouldn't be fighting. Not really. He grinned when he finally arrived and saw who was doing what. He wanted to shout, but he pulled down his ninja goggles from his forehead and whispered, "Gyo."

The Nen Jutsu of Gyo did something similar to the Uchiha Sharingan and he was able to see through the Mist to the figures of Gato and his henchmen. They were attempting to sneak up the other end of the bridge. "Perfect," the blond whispered. "They're almost in position."

He lifted his goggles and approached Tazuna with a good sized log under his arm. "Hey old man," Naruto said. "I need you to lay down here for a moment."

The Bridge Builder shrugged his large shoulders. He watched to see what the blond ninja kid was going to do with the log, a piece of paper and the strangest ink he'd ever seen.

"I need your hand," Naruto said and grabbed the man's hand. He used a senbon needle to prick it and then let a drop of blood land on the paper.

"Ouch you brat," Tazuna said. "What was that for?"

"You'll see," the blond replied absently mindedly. He also said, "Don't try to hit me Sakura or else, I'll have to start this again and it takes concentration." Another couple of minutes and the markings on the paper were complete. "Done," he said. "Sakura take the old man home and if those two thugs are still tied up outside his door, strip them of their valuables for compensation."

"WHAT," she yelled, getting everyone's attention. "HOW DARE YOU..."

"Sakura, do as he says," Kakashi told the pink haired Kunoichi. "Guard the client and...oh," the man saw the Seal on the paper. "Now that will be interesting."

"Everything is set," Naruto told them. "Now it's only a matter of execution, which can't be done if there are two Tazuna's here," he looked at the girl that was trying to find a way to stick around.

Sakura blinked and then looked at the dummy Bridge Builder on the ground. "It's not fair," she said. "I'm a part of this team, so I should be staying."

"Sakura," Risa said. "I'm going to go with you. I can't fight right now and I'm not ready to let Akoba fight either. They are the stronger, but I also believe that there won't be that much bloodshed here."

"But...but...," Sakura protested.

Kakashi-sensei said, "Sakura, you are ordered to take Tazuna home now. Strip the thugs of their valuables and wait for us to return. Our mission is not over because we've received the go ahead from our Hokage to stay until the bridge has been built. Do you understand our mission?"

"Yes sensei," she said standing up. "Tazuna is still our client and must be protected."

"Risa," Tokuma said. "Show her how to determine the values of an enemy's spoils. That should occupy your time very well."

"Yes sensei," Risa said and followed the other two off the bridge, just as it was swallowed by a large Genjutsu spell that trapped everyone inside it. She grinned knowing some of what her blond friend was going to do. '_He's a true ninja,_' she thought. '_He will be my Hokage one day._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The men within the mist were surprised to feel the Genjutsu rise. Their perceptions were focused, but they could hear the battle sounds around them. It was kind of strange to hear their voices talking, calling out one another and the fighting.

Naruto grinned and said, "Now the story changes." He let the battles sounds get louder and signaled for Zabuza to attack the dummy to create believable wounds on the thing. "Stop," the blond said and then he activated the Seal. "Now drag him to the end and cut off his head. It will roll to the feet of your '_employer_' and complete the parameters of your contract."

Zabuza was grinning evilly as he dragged a really convincing and broken Bridge Building to the edge of the Mist and then with a large yelled and a swing of his signature blade, the head fell and rolled to the feet of the short man that had the entire Wave Country under his fist for many years. The missing '_rogue_' ninja strode out of the Mist and said, "You're right on time. There's the head of the builder as requested and all work on the bridge has ceased."

Gato smiled the most unfriendly smile and said, "That doesn't matter. I wasn't planning on paying you for the task. See the men behind me have been hired to take down missing ninja."

Meanwhile in the Mist, Naruto was changing his appearance, including that of Haku and Sasuke with the aid of the cloth patches. "You two are the associated to Kitsune Company Limited. If and when men begin to appear from that end of the mist, walking of their own free will, guide to that building. Tell them that the Head of the Company will be speaking to all of them soon and come back to the bridge."

"Kakashi-sensei and Tokuma-sensei you're their guard to ensure that nothing happens," Naruto said, adding patches to his own clothing. "Confiscate all weapons and scrolls from the men. Sasuke and Haku remove your ninja headbands. It's more convincing if you don't have it on." He did the same with his own and he also removed his goggles. He placed his hands in position that indicated the beginning of a series of hand signs. "You guys ready?"

The two dark-haired boys looked at each other and nodded. Kakashi and Tokuma nodded as well. The speeds of the hand signs were still too quick to catch, but at least the sequence was somewhat familiar to the two Jounin. However their reactions were worth it.

Totally jaw dropping and worth it.

The three boys grew in height. The hair lengthened, except for Haku's since it was already long enough. They clothing was altered into dark suits and ties to match their eyes.

Sasuke had a dark five o'clock shadow. His eyes were still dark blue, due to the active Henge. He had a sword strapped to his back that looked like it belonged there. His was tied at the nape of his neck, just like his blond teammates.

Naruto's eyes darkened a bit and his teeth were slightly sharper. He grinned at his senseis and said, "Show time."

He took off running through the Mist calling out, "Gato-san, Gato-san..."

"What had he been up to," Kakashi asked Tokuma.

The Hyuga grinned and said, "He'll tell you when he's ready. But let me tell you what I learned about Kitsune Company Limited..."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Gato had just finished telling the angry Zabuza that he wasn't about to pay the man and that he'd already hired others to hunt him down. "It's the perfect vicious circle," the short man said. "I hire one missing or rogue ninja to kill another of the same ilk and never have to pay."

A voice called for '_Gato-san_' from the mist behind Zabuza that had the short man reacting with an involuntary flinch. This was something that his men noticed immediately.

Everyone noticed that the man was tall, blond and squared jawed, with long blond hair tied at the nape and dark blue eyes. "There you are Gato-san," the man said in a stern voice. "I've been searching for you. You have a few obligations to take care of before you spend any more money that you no longer have."

"Naoya-san," Gato said in a false cheerful voice. "I was about to obtain your money."

"We've giving you all the extensions that we were ever going to give you," Naoya said. "The Kitsune Company has been informed that the Wave Bank has called in for payment on your loans." The blond then looked at the assembled men behind Gato. "I have a list of names here, when I call you, come forth and stand next to me."

A total of seventeen names men left Gato's side. The blond man led them out of the way, as Zabuza watched everything with bored amusement. "You men currently owe either money or service to the Kitsune Company. Step that way," he pointed to the mist, heading away from Gato. "My colleagues are there to direct you to a new location to re-negotiate terms with the Head of the Company. Those that don't want that option can return to Gato's side and face the consequences with him."

Eleven walked away from Gato and only six returned to the side of the man they believed had the stronger position in the Land of Waves. They were mistaken. "Idiots," Naoya said. "Well, now..." he looked at the missing ninja and said, "Zabuza was it?"

"Yes," the man answered warily.

"Has your contract to this idiot been fulfilled," Naoya asked.

"Yes," the rogue Mist ninja said.

"Kill them all," Naoya said. "Kill all of those men, including Gato."

"Now wait a minute, Naoya-san," Gato protested. "You can't be serious. What about the money I owe?"

"Your assets are inaccessible, you have no money and you can't pay anything back," the blond man replied. "As per the terms of the multiple loans you've signed for, you failed and therefore, as agreed your life is forfeit, including any that are currently following you."

"My pleasure," Zabuza said and bathed the unfinished end of the bridge in the blood of the men that had followed Gato.

Gato was trussed up to watch the outcome of his failure. The blond man then leaned over and plucked a piece paper off the head of the Tazuna the Bridge Builder to reveal a wood stump. The short man screamed, "YOU LYING CHEAT! HE'S SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO HAVE HANDED ME HIS HEAD."

"Actually," Zabuza said. "You only asked for his head. There was never any mention that the man had to be dead. You on the other hand...do have to die." He swung his sword and this time it did take a human's head, cutting off the scream that the sight of the overly large sword coming forward. "I feel much better. So Naoya-san...is it?"

Naoya called forth a large wave to wash the end of the bridge and removed all bodies and body parts. It was a strange elemental spell that pulled everything out to the sea, but in reality most of the bodies were following the current and were headed to Kiri, Land of Mists.

"Zabuza," Naoya said. "I have a few things to take care of. Perhaps you'd like to stick around for a few days while everything gets sorted."

Zabuza shrugged and dissipated the mist that was no longer needed. At the other end of the bridge he noticed, four men standing there and waiting. Two were Jounin and two were in suits. "You came prepared," he said. "Where's Haku?"

"Look closer," Naoya said. "If you'll excuse me, I need to see to those eleven that turned from Gato." He headed to the building and was followed by the two Jounin and one of the men in a suit. "Just remove the patches to revert," Naoya said.

"What is Naoya-san talking about," Zabuza said to the last man there. He watched in fascination as patch by patch was removed. "Haku...now that is an interesting development, so those two were..."

"The Genin," Haku nodded and then explained how the patches worked.

Meanwhile, the man who called himself Naoya, presented himself to the eleven men that had walked away from Gato. "Congratulations gentlemen. You were the smart ones," he said. "My name is Naoya Kitsune, the owner and Head of Kitsune Company Limited. For years I've tried to lift the darkness that was Gato out of this land and fought to keep the shipping and ports fees reasonable."

He paused to look at their reactions and then continued, "Today I've finally succeeded and yet with you eleven there is something that feels an awful lot, like loose ends here. You all have debts with my banks and with some of my men. You need to pay, only this time you'll be paying in service." Zabuza and Haku came in then. "These two will be my '_Enforcers_' in this Land and Country. They will ensure that you follow the parameters of you contractual bonds or else ensure that you are properly disposed of, as per the terms of our agreement. Now go home you idiots and feed what family you have."

The eleven men quickly left, while Kakashi and Tokuma watched as the patches were removed from the two Konoha Genin. Sasuke couldn't help it and said, "That was so fun."

That comment caused the others to laugh and nod in agreement.

"It was," Tokuma said. "I'm going to go collect Risa so that we may continue to take care of our commissions. We'll be back in time to train with them and guard the builders as they finish the bridge."

"So you'll teach us to hide," Haku asked. "In exchange for..."

"Senbon lessons," Sasuke said eagerly. "Or Kenjutsu..."

Naruto looked at Zabuza and said, "Personally, I'd prefer learning Kenjutsu."

"Deal," the missing nin said. "Only until the bridge is finished being built and we'll get that Kunoichi of yours trained too."

"Deal," Kakashi, Sasuke and Naruto all said at the same time.

Haku giggled behind his hand and Zabuza looked amused at the thought that these guys were having a hard time training a single pink-haired girl.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(…i…) Naoya, means: mend, reform, improve (alias for Naruto, persona who owns Kitsune Company Ltd., who takes over Gato's strangle hold on the shipping and ports in the Land of Waves); see name meaning - http: / www. dot babynames dot com/ Names/ (remove the spaces and change word dot)


	14. Chapter 14

**CH 14**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

They headed back to Tazuna's and found the two samurai trussed and wearing only their underwear. "This is unexpected," Kakashi-sensei said. "Every thing had value?"

"Not really," Risa said. "I did it this way to show your teammate how to evaluate items and since they had so much on them there was quite a range that we were able to study. However…" She frowned and sighed when she saw the girl run up the last of the Uchiha clan…

"Oh Sasuke, I was so worried about you," she said, clinging to his arm. "Are you all right? Did you get hurt anywhere?"

Naruto then turned to Haku and Zabuza saying, "Now do you understand?"

The girl looked up to see who the blond was talking to and she shrieked, "EEKKK, THEY'RE STILL ALIVE. WHY ARE THEY STILL ALIVE? THEY SHOULD HAVE DIED…"

Sasuke had had enough of clinging to him, of her attitude, the sound of her shrieking voice and so he slapped her. "That's enough Sakura-kun," he added an honourific that wasn't so nice for a girl, especially said in a tone that indicated insult and not respect. "They are here to train us and you'll like it or else when we get back to Konoha, Naruto and I will petition the Council to have another Genin placed on our team."

Sakura had tears in her eyes from the slap. It hadn't been a hard one, but everyone was looking at her like she'd deserved it. "Naruto wouldn't do that," she said. She turned to glare and threaten the blond, clenching her fists at her side. "He wants me on this team, don't you?"

"Nope," Naruto answered bluntly. She attacked him, but was stopped when he blocked her with quick precise motions. He told her, "I'm not to be used as a scapegoat for your anger when things don't go your way, Sakura. Sasuke told you the truth and I told truth. Deal with it!"

"Well," Zabuza said. "You know where to find us Blondie, so meet us there in two days time and make sure that your chakra reserves are up to snuff, 'cause we're goin' to be putting you two through the ringer. Got it Boss?" He indicated that only the black haired boy that backed him up was come along. Then he left with Haku, who was still stunned by the way that the girl had acted.

"Was that normal," Haku asked and his Master explained what things should have been like for the Genin team, as they walked away.

"Sakura," Kakashi-sensei said with a very serious expression. "You have until we finish this mission to decide if this is team you want work with in the future. Tomorrow we're going to review your training schedule, the expectations of a Genin team and where what level you should be by the time we get back to Konoha."

He then turned to the two boys and said, "You've been given a rare opportunity and I won't deny you the chance to learn from them. You two will guard the old man tomorrow. Just do your regular physical routine and rest those chakra reserves. That means no clones for either of you, understood." Both boys nodded.

"Day after tomorrow, pack lightly and then you two can go train with them. Make sure that you send us clone every third day so that you can be updated about the bridge," their Jounin sensei said. "Tokuma you tell them the good news."

"Ah, yes," the other Jounin said. "Good news. We've been given permission to stay until the bridge is fully completed by the Hokage because he'd received a mission request by an anonymous source that requested this C-Rank Mission be upgraded to an upper B-Rank mission." He paused dramatically and then added, "Including B-Rank pay at the highest level."

"Woohoo," Naruto said jumping up for joy. "B-Rank bonus…awesome…Can we shop before we have to go back? Please Kaka-sensei?"

"Shop?" The man asked in confusion.

"I could take them a couple of towns over, when our business is over in about four days' time," Tokuma said. "We're going to sell the samurai's gear anyway and they will all have some funds to spend."

"Whatever," Kakashi said. "We'll see how their training goes with the two…"

"Guardians," Naruto said.

"What," Tazuna asked.

"Those two are now the Guardians for Wave Country," Naruto said. "For the next few years, give or take a month."

Sasuke nodded and said, "Kitsune Company Limited took over most of Gato's empire. They're making a lot changes that you should all be seeing soon. I think there was also a promise of no import fees or dock fees for six months in order to allow product to travel through your Land."

"Six months, no fees," Tazuna said. "That's not possible without someone to…"

"Enforce it," Naruto replied in a kind of cheeky tone. "That's what they're gonna do, but they're gonna do it the Shinobi way."

"Father," Tsunami said. "We'll just have to have faith and patience for six months to see, if a difference has been made."

"I agree," the Bridge Builder said. "Shinobi based in the Land of Waves, now that should be interesting."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Zabuza looked down at the two boys who were loaded with weights and with sword pairs twice the size and weight of Naruto's original set.

The boy had been clinging to them for a while, when he explained to them why, "Look I know they aren't much to look at, but they were the only things that I could afford on a base Genin pay. It took me a long time to save enough Ryo, just to get the Tanto. I had to wait until we had missions outside of Konoha in order to buy it too."

"How did you get the Wakizashi then," Sasuke had asked him. "And why wait so long? There are blacksmiths in Konoha that can supply you."

"We lucked in with a C-Rank Mission to guard a merchant that was transporting ore to a blacksmith. He had several unfinished pieces in his workshop," Naruto told him. "We had to guard the transport several times. My team agreed to take my mission pay in exchange for the partially finished sword that the blacksmith agreed to finish for me, if I helped him out during the entire time."

"How did you manage it," Haku asked.

"Shadow clones," Naruto said. "I left a couple with the smith so that I could travel with the merchant and my team. The blacksmith knew and allowed it. He was able to finish more pieces that way and I sorta learned about blacksmithing in general."

"But why did you have to wait so long to buy a sword," Sasuke asked again.

Naruto sighed and then said, "I'm the Jinchuriki of Konoha."

"What's that," the black haired boy asked. He looked back at Zabuza and Haku, who'd both gasped upon hearing that the boy was a demon container.

"Nearly twelve years ago Konoha was attacked, right," Naruto said, prompting the other boy to take up the tale.

"A demon," Sasuke said. "The nine-tailed fox or Kyuubi no Yoko attacked the village. There was confusion and deaths on the day that it had been released. No one knows where it had been kept, but everyone knew that, if it was ever to be released it would attack those that had confined it."

"On that day, a woman who'd been the container of the demon was attacked by someone that had wanted to use the demon's strength against the village they hated," Naruto said. "Not many knew that the woman was pregnant and that her mate was a Seal Master. A man, who knew how to contain the demon, should it have ever been released against Konoha."

"I heard about that," Zabuza said. "It attacked and killed almost a third of the population in the town before the end of that day. The rumour was that the demon was destroyed, but no Shinobi ever believed that."

"Why not," Haku asked.

"Because the Shinobi were the first to confine demons inside the bodies of humans," Naruto continued. "Those humans were to be tools and used for war. All Shinobi nations agreed to confining them, most of those nations have a person holding a demon within them and because of the Jinchuriki there are fewer large scale Shinobi wars than there was in the past."

"You have demon inside you?" Sasuke asked. "Does it make you stronger?"

"No," Naruto said and lifted his shirt to show the Seal. "This is the most complicated Seal to date for containing demons. I get very little from him and it's mostly only chakra to heal me when I've been mortally injured. He does not take over my mind, thoughts or emotions." He pulled his shirt and the said, "That's not true for some of the other Jinchuriki."

"Blondie's right," Zabuza said. "I knew the one from Mist. Person was insane or else the demon had completely taken that person's life. Unless their seal is like his," he pointed to Naruto. "There's not much hope of the human surviving the experience of being a Jinchuriki."

"Mortally injured?" Sasuke said. "How does that turn into a reason why you can't get proper weapons?"

"The adults in the village must know. Get enough of them drunk and feeling down about losing family on the night of the demon's attack and then you get mobs," Zabuza explained, he looked at the blond, who nodded. "Mobs are violent. If they only looked at you and saw the demon, without looking underneath the underneath."

"That's right," Naruto pursed his lips and then pulled out a kunai. "I could get proper weapons, but…How much did you pay for one kunai, in Konoha and I'm not talking hunting the training grounds?"

"Last time," Sasuke said, ignoring the previous information for now and continuing with the weapons discussion. He pulled out his and looked at it. "One hundred twenty Ryo, give or take."

"Five hundred Ryo," Naruto said and handed him the only kunai he'd ever bought in Konoha. "This is before I passed the Genin exams. It's gone up now. They've been trying to charge me seven or eight hundred for something like this. Check the difference."

"Balance is completely off," Haku said, without even needing to handle it. "You can tell at first glance."

"There's something with metal," Zabuza looked at it closely. "Is it flaking?"

"It's too light," Sasuke said, weighing it and his. "It would shatter with one hit."

"Yep," Naruto said taking back the poor weapon.

"Why keep it," Haku asked.

"To remind me that man is only man and that feelings are never rational," Naruto said. "They can blame me all they want for something I never did. But one day they will know that I'd fight for them no matter what and not because it's my job or because I'm supposed to be Konoha's tool and should be used for the protection of the village. It's just that I know one day they'll and see me…Uzumaki Naruto, one stubborn son-of-a-bitch. That's why I'm never giving up on my dream of becoming Hokage."

"Hmph," Sasuke said. "How do you get stronger then?"

"Every see a momma bear fight to protect her cubs, see any creature fight a human trap by gnawing of their own leg to escape," Naruto said. "That is your answer."

"Shinobi are not supposed to have feelings," Sasuke said with a scowl.

"Wrong," Naruto said. "That rule is written wrong, the wording is incorrect. It should be written as '_Shinobi are not to express feelings_,' not be void of them completely, life doesn't work that way. Why do you think half of them hide their more expressive features?"

"Masks," Sasuke's eyes widened. "Glasses…"

"Sometimes," Naruto smiled his most annoying in your face smile, "A grin…" and that's when Sasuke noticed that it was the mask it was supposed to be. This was the blond's annoying fighting face. It appeared every time they fought.

"Heh," Sasuke said with his own tiny wry corner grin. "Here I thought you were enjoying the fight too much."

"If I can keep this smile," Naruto said. "It will piss off nearly every opponent I fight. However once it drops, wouldn't that be even more unnerving?"

"You've put some thought into this," Sasuke commented.

He only received a simple shoulder shrug and, "Do you think the girls would leave you alone if your face was covered like Kakashi-sensei's?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted his normal sound, which for a long while now only meant, '_let me think about this_'.

"This has been enlightening," Zabuza said. "But break time's over boys, first form begin."

The two had wanted this and once again they were up. The followed the instructions of one of the hardest teachers that they would ever have. Not only were they learning the Kenjutsu from a Master, they were also learning human anatomy from a Senbon Master.

Zabuza had observed the boys' training routine, modified a bit and had added the weights. On the first day he had both of them using branches to go through the sword katas. On the second day they did their routines with a pair of quarterstaffs from Sasuke's weapons scroll.

The missing nin then had the boy empty the scroll and all weapons were removed and commented on. Several were sold because they were too old and the boy didn't want to keep them, especially if their sale would promote enough funds to allow him to obtain better weapons. Other he put aside because he wanted to keep them for some unknown reason.

They used these staves until they could do the forms without tripping up. Then they tested various blades until they both found a style of blade that suited them. Ironically they both found a preference for the Wakizashi and long Katana. It wasn't so much of a surprise to Naruto, but Sasuke wondered how that could have been determined.

"It's in the way you choose your Taijutsu style," Zabuza said. "Your Academy probably drilled the form into you and those that have other weapons, like axes or bows were probably taught to use those before they entered the Academy."

"So the Academy stunts our weapons potential," Sasuke commented.

"Not quite," Zabuza said. "It's like we told you, a third of your village was killed by the demon. People don't move into Shinobi villages unless they have family there or they know that they are safe there. The people that died, could have been those that were strong in the other weapons skills that's all."

"Mist is strong in oversized swords and senbon," Haku told them. "We don't have many in regular weapons, like staffs or axes and it's rare for that country to accept anyone with Kekkei Genkai."

"Our village pays for them to move in, by giving lands and grants," Naruto said with a snort.

"What," Sasuke said.

"It's true," Naruto said. "The reason that we have the number of Clans we do is because the past Hokages have strongly encouraged those with rare Kekkei Genkai to settle in our town."

"Then why move my Clan…"

"That's for another day," Naruto told him seriously. "What form are we on?"

"I don't know," Sasuke said. "Are you due to send another clone to Kakashi-sensei?"

"Oops," Naruto said and then whispered the clone technique under his breath and tried to do it again without shouting out the spell or using hand signs. The clone took some time, but it appeared and didn't seem to have any flaw.

Sasuke walked around the clone and then said, "I think you nearly have it down, but this one's not wearing goggles."

"But everything else is there," Naruto asked the clone.

"Yep," the clone saluted and then took off to Tazuna's place in order to get an update on the bridge and whether it'll be completed soon.

"Eighth form," Zabuza shouted out. The boys took their position and then moved through the forms.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"Kaka-sensei," the Naruto clone called out.

"Yo," the man said from his book reading position on the top of the roof. The clone hopped up and then the man pointed at the bridge. "About six more days and it should be done. It's time they came back, especially if they want to go shopping."

"Yes, Kaka-sensei," said the clone and then it popped out of existence.

"Hm," the Jounin said absentmindedly. "No goggles, I wonder why?"

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Risa was looking at the girl who had tears in her eyes. The girl's sensei had pushed her hard, but even she could tell that the girl's heart wasn't in it. "Sakura," she said getting the other girl's attention. "Why aren't you even trying?"

"I'm worried about Sasuke," the pink haired girl said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"What about Naruto," Risa asked. "Isn't he on your team too?"

"He doesn't count," Sakura said waving away the concern about the blond boy. "My parents hate the fact that he's on my team. I hate the fact that he's on my team. I can't help it. It's just something that I feel strongly about."

Akoba growled at his bonded companion and the girl nodded, "All right I'll ask." She looked towards the girl who'd been watching her. "Did you want to become a Kunoichi?"

"I did," Sakura said.

"Before Sasuke came to the Academy or after," Risa asked, knowing that there were two Jounin on the roof listening to this important conversation. The chakra signatures told her that, but she strongly suspected that the girl hadn't even bothered to sense for them.

"I don't know anymore," the pink haired girl said. "I think it was before. I thought that the ninja in our village were cool and that they got to go on so many adventures. I really wanted to get out of Konoha and thought that this was the best way to do it, I guess."

"Now that you're out of Konoha," Risa continued her probing. "What do you think?"

"I'm not sure," Sakura answered and then she looked out of the window. "I don't know what to do."

"Do you want to go higher, like becoming a Chunin," Risa asked.

"Not with Naruto as my teammate," Sakura said immediately. "I don't trust him. It'd be great with Sasuke because there's nothing that he can't do."

"I see," Risa said. "Well, Kakashi-sensei has agreed to let me take you shopping three towns over. That is if you'd like to go?"

"No thanks," Sakura said. "I'm going to wait for Sasuke to return and go with him when he returns."

"As you wish," Risa said. "Akoba let's go continue our practice." The ninja-dog, growl-yipped his agreement using the Inuzuka nin-dog language.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"Naruto, you have to see this," Haku whispered to wake the boy. "Sasuke get up, you don't want to miss this either." The two boys got up and looked out the window. Outside there looked to be a snow fox. "It's so rare to see one this far south. Did you know that they're white year round?"

Naruto felt a stirring in his gut and then the small fox kit appeared. He'd done so a couple of times after it had been revealed to Sasuke the fact that one of his teammates is a Jinchuriki. "Hey, Kita," the blond said softly to the fox kit. "What's going on?"

Kita leapt to the window frame and looked out. "Uncle," the kit said out loud. "That's uncle. Notice, he's got two tails."

"What do you know," Naruto said as he looked more closely.

Sasuke looked too and said, "He really does. Why is it here, though?"

"The scroll," Kita said. The fox kit looked at Naruto and said, "He's gonna test you and he might want to talk to gran'pa too."

"Ugh," Naruto said. "I'm getting dressed."

"Don't forget your weights," Haku said. "I'll just stay here and watch."

"What scroll," Sasuke asked and followed the blond in getting dressed. It was already nearing five in the morning anyway, so it didn't quite matter.

"I made summoning scroll," Naruto said. "I was going to offer it to Kita because then he'd have a safe place to live. You do know that many summons live in pocket dimensions right, when a scroll is created."

"Yes," Sasuke said. "Wait a minute you '_created_' a summoning scroll for Fox?"

"When I found Kita, he was very weak," Naruto said. "I also noticed that he was stronger than your average fox. Kurama told me that the kit was a Biju child. The scroll is just a scroll until ink is added to activate specific spells."

"Kurama," Sasuke said. "Who's Kurama?"

"The nine-tails," Naruto said candidly.

"Your old team knew about the fox," the Uchiha asked and also thought, '_Who knew that demon had a name?_' He'd been slowly fishing for more information about his companion and so far the picture of the boy's life in Konoha was far from pleasant to know. Still it looked like there was more to find out and this was just another thing to add to the mystery that is Naruto. "Didn't they?"

"Yes," Naruto said. "We talked about it. They were naturally worried, but why do you think a Hyuga Jounin was selected to lead the team I was on? Why do you think that Kakashi-sensei was assigned to Team Seven?"

"They could detect any anomalies in you related to the fox demon," Sasuke concluded. "Then Kakashi-sensei is on this team for you."

"No, that's just a bonus for the Council," Naruto said. "He really is on Team Seven because he's the only Sharingan wielder in town that can teach you, but that'll only happen after your Kekkei Genkai activates."

Sasuke grinned and said, "Oh really. How's he going to know that?"

"You'll have to tell him," Naruto said and grinned right back at the Uchiha. "Unless you'd rather wait until we get back to Konoha."

"Think I'll wait," Sasuke replied. "Why don't you go see what Uncle Whitey down there wants?"

Naruto nodded and then walked out of the window and down the side of the building. Once he was completely down, he held out his hands and Kita, who was waiting on the window ledge, jumped into them.

Haku and Sasuke kept watch out of the window and soon were joined by Zabuza who was wondering where his students were. They saw Naruto approach the two-tailed snow fox and that was the last they saw. A ball of white light flashed in the area and then the area was empty.

"Shit," Sasuke said. He was about to race down there to see what happened by Zabuza held him back.

"Wait about an hour," the man told him. "There's a possibility that he's being tested and was just taken to the testing place. Go outside and do your exercises. That should occupy enough of your time and you'll be able to keep an on the clearing."

"Thanks," Sasuke said. He did his stretches and watched the clearing. He did some chakra control exercises on the ropes used to stabilize the conical building and watched the clearing. He was about practice some Taijutsu katas, when about half an hour later another ball of light, this time blue, flashed and Naruto was in the clearing. It looked like he was asleep with the red fox kit on his neck.

"Naruto," he ran to his teammate. "Naruto are you all right?"

"Mah," Naruto groaned, sitting up. Beside him there was a scroll with the word '_FOX_' on it. "Sasuke, what're you…" The blond looked around and then remembered. "Oh… this is Zabuza's place. How long was I gone?"

"About half an hour," Sasuke said, confused about the question. "Where did the two-tailed fox go?"

"The scroll is finally created," Kita said excitedly. "Uncle Whitey didn't want to be the guardian of it though." The fox kit yawned.

"Did you grow," the Uchiha asked the little red fox that was now about knee high.

"That's what happens when you're gone for about a year," Kita said. Then he dissipated into completely red chakra vapour before going back to his grand-pa's cage.

"A year," Sasuke said with an incredulous tone.

"Ah," Naruto said rubbing the back of his head. "I created the scroll," he said holding it up to show the other boy and then he pocketed it securely. "Now that it's done, those that want to be bound to it will come to me. Oh man, I hope no one in Konoha notices them when they do come."

"Naruto are you all right," Sasuke asked again.

"I'm fine, Teme," Naruto said. "It was only a test. Most summoning creatures will put you through tests in order to for them to deem you worthy of listening to and helping when you do summon them. That's if you sign an existing scroll. If you create one, then it seems that the tests are different…I guess."

"Dobe, you created a summon scroll," Sasuke clarified. "For foxes, does that mean that foxes will start showing up in Konoha?"

"You can create them for anything," Naruto explained. "I know that they can be created for normal creatures or for those that are stronger, like the offspring of Biju and yeah foxes might start coming to Konoha."

Sasuke frowned and realized that he might never be strong enough to kill his brother. He wondered if he ever would be. He sighed and said, "We need to pack our stuff."

"Yeah, oh," Naruto said. "I kind of forgot that we needed to be leaving today to go shopping."

"Will you tell me about the test," Sasuke said. "Can you show me how to create one?"

"Sure," the blond replied. "Some other day though, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sasuke said. "You're going to be explaining a lot of, '_some other day_'."

"I know, I know," Naruto countered and waved it off, as they walked into the building to pack the meagre belongings that they'd brought along for training with the rogue ninjas. "Don't worry about it. You'll find your strength someday soon." He finished with the thought, '_and I hope it's not with too high a price_.'

Zabuza met them and said, "Don't wear the weights today. We're taking the both of you to a place that makes custom order weapons. They'll kit you out properly. Just be sure to add the Kenjutsu forms to your regular training routine."

"Yes Zabuza-sensei," Naruto replied.

"Blondie, I told you not to call me that," the man said and bopped him hard on the head.

"Yessir," Naruto replied and rubbed his sore spot.

"Are you ready," Haku asked. He received a nod from the other two boys. "All right, I've been looking forward to this."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The place they came to was interesting. It was like Naruto's tale of when he'd had a C-Rank mission and that the blacksmith of that mission had some partially finished pieces. Apparently there's a different reason to have partially finished pieces hanging on the walls.

"Ah, Zabu," an old sounding voice called out from the dim confines of the shop's entrance. "Come to finally get a sword for that girly boy of yours?"

"NO," Zabuza said. "He doesn't want one, so don't bother him about it. I've brought you two people that need swords made."

An old man limped out to see whom he was talking about. "Leaf, huh," the man said. "Never thought I'd see any of them come here. They haven't seen any in years. Last one was about twenty…twenty-five years ago and it was an Uchiha."

Sasuke stiffened and then asked, "What was his name?"

"Her," the old man clarified. "It was a girl and I believe her name was Mikoto, she had the Sharingan. Now that girl kicked ass with a blade. The moves she did, I swear she was close to inventing her own Kenjutsu Style. I sometimes wonder whatever happened to her. She promised me that, if she ever had children she'd bring them for their own weapons, but…" The old man paused and noticed the expression on the one of the boy's face. "Yeah, she was the last Uchiha I saw."

Sasuke had gasped and looked wide-eyed. "Th…tha…that was…please excuse me," he said and left the shop quickly seeking fresh air and a bit of privacy.

Naruto looked at his retreating back with sad eyes. "I think that might have been his mother," he told the man and the other ninja that were looking to him for answers. "About six years ago the entire Uchiha Clan, save him," he pointed in Sasuke direction. "Were massacred. It's been said that it was his older brother, Itachi that did it. I believe him too because sometimes he dreams about it."

"No wonder he talks of strength and revenge," Zabuza said. "Begin with him and I'll get the other one."

"All right then boyo," the old man said. "Let's test for weapon compatibility."

"Both have been tested by Zabuza-sama," Haku said to the man. "They match with Long Katana and full length Wakizashi."

"What about the other boy," the man pulled out a length of steel.

"Same," Haku replied.

"Elements," the old man asked.

"Fire and Lightning for Sasuke," Naruto told him. "His Sharingan is active too, if you need to know that."

"I do thanks," the old man said. "But right now I'm working on you. What are your elements and do you have a Kekkei Genkai?"

"Wind and Water," Naruto said. "No bloodline limit, but the rumour is that my family is prone to having excessive amounts of chakra."

"What's your name," the man turned to look at him more closely and he noticed the whisker marks.

"Uzumaki Naruto," the blond replied. "My mother's name was Uzumaki Kushina."

"I see," the old man said. "Excessive chakra, hm? Could you tell me an example of your limits?"

"I can make about five hundred Kage Bushin without feeling tired when they get dispelled," Naruto said with an embarrassed cough at the stares he was receiving. He scratched his whiskered cheek. "If I make about a thousand, then I have to sleep about four hours to recover from the chakra exhaustion."

"There's something else isn't there," the old man. "I know Uzumaki line."

"I may '_contain_' something that aids in my recovery, if I were truly and severely injured, but…" he looked up and said. "It's not going to be there forever."

"How true," the old man said. He pulled out an element test paper and told the blond, "Test for your elements again."

"The test won't function properly," Naruto said. He centred himself and allowed the elements to gather. He developed markings around his eyes and then he opened them to reveal something unique that old man understood. "My elements are Wind and Water, anything else is because of this." He immediately released his Sage form.

"Ah," the old man nodded and then he said, "Create three clones for me. They and you will work to help forge your weapons."

Naruto did and the man set him to specific tasks. The partially made weapons on the walls were the guides for the boy to follow.

Sasuke returned from his talk with Zabuza and saw that Naruto had clones out. "We make our own?"

"You begin them," the old man said. "Well, I give you the tools, you provide the elements. You know..." He paused to look at the boy's face. "You don't have the regular black eyes of an Uchiha, but you do remind me of that girl."

"The colour of my eyes are currently hidden," the boy told him. "I didn't want to be targeted, just because I'm an Uchiha. The Sharingan only activated during this mission."

"Good to know, good to know," the man said. "Blondie here said that you have the elements of Fire and Lightning, correct."

"Yes," Sasuke confirmed.

"Good, good," the man said. "Can you make Kage Bushin like him?"

"My limit is two without exhaustion," the boy confirmed.

"Wonderful," the old man said. "Blondie get rid of one of yours so that you and your pal can work at the same pace." One of the blond Bushin popped out, leaving only Naruto and two clones.

"Now let's begin," the man said with an eager cackle. He walked Sasuke through the steps of forming the metal of his first weapon. Both were working on their Wakizashi. "The reason that you boys are working the steel is to infuse the weapons with your chakra which includes your elements. I'll take over sometime in the middle in order to finish them properly, but for now just call forth your chakra as you work the metals matching the forms and stages. This method ensures that no one will ever be able to wield them, once they are completed."

Naruto's eyes lit up and he glanced at his teammate who had a very satisfied expression.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**


	15. Chapter 15

**CH 15**

**Land of Waves: End**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Zabuza and Haku walked the boys back to the Bridge Builder's village. In doing so they walked through several towns, where a blond man named '_Kitsune Naoya_', introduced them as the Guardians or Enforcers of various contracts that some businesses had. The man then handed out his company's business card, which would allow the population to submit their complaints, get aid as needed or advise the company when something has gone wrong with someone or some business.

The blond man was personable and he had three body guards at all times. No more, no less and this was a vast improvement over Gato, who'd always had too many. Having too many, also meant that more people got hurt depending on the guards' boredom factor.

These three were perfect in manners and attitude. Not once did Naoya-san's guards shove, toss, hurt, damage or take any other action, besides guarding the man they were hired to guard. The people in the Land of Waves noticed this and truly appreciated it, despite the fact that one guy was scary looking because he didn't have any eyebrows.

As they approached the clearing where Haku had met Naruto, in order to obtain the location for a private meeting, they noted that there was a female fox in the middle of it feeding three kits. Naruto looked at the others who nodded that they were in the clear, which allowed them to remove their disguises. Then he approached the female slowly.

She looked at him and said, "You made a scroll. It is now occupied."

"A snow-fox with two-tails came to me seven days ago," Naruto agreed.

"I would join, but my kits..." She paused and looked at the blond, wondering what he'd say.

"By choice alone," Naruto said. "I'll not force any to join the scroll. A parent's choice will never automate that of the child's or children."

"Wonderful," she stood. "Open it up."

The blond pulled out his scroll and asked, "Do you have a name or do you want me to name you?"

"Name me," she said.

"Well, since we're currently in the Land of Waves," he asked. "How about... Nami?" (Wave)

"It's lovely," she said and agreed to it.

They all watched him add the name in Fujin script as part of the scroll. She used her paw to put add her print. Her nose was on the paper and she sounded amused as she read the name of the first fox into the scroll. "Uncle," she paused. "...Whitey?"

"Kita and Sasuke named him," Naruto said with a grin. She nodded and ushered her kits to touch her, as she activated the reverse summons that would allow her to go to the place where '_Uncle Whitey_' had settled in the dimension reserved for animal summon creatures.

The blond rolled up the scroll and put it away. He gave his remaining disguise patches to Zabuza and Sasuke gave the ones he had to Haku. "These will allow you to hide well if you need to," Naruto told them, as they were taking their leave. "They'll last through a few activations before getting too worn to use again. They were not meant for long-term use."

"Can we obtain more," Haku asked.

"Sure," Naruto said. "Just call Kitsune Company Limited," he gave them a business card, different from the ones he'd handed out. "They'll make sure that some D or C Rank mission is set up for delivery of the items."

"Thanks kid," Zabuza said. "Come on Haku. We have a lot of work to do."

"Yes, Zabuza-sama," Haku said waving to the two boys. "We'll keep in touch."

The two boys of Team Seven waited until the other two ninja were gone before starting their walk back to the village where their sensei and last teammate was waiting for them.

"Neh, Naruto," Sasuke said. "Will you show me how to make one?"

"A summon scroll. You need to learn Fuuinjitsu writing," Naruto said. He noticed that the other boy wasn't really interested in that part of it. "I could give you a blank summon scroll and help you to write most of the requirements, without closing the spell until you find the animal you want to add to it. Your primary animal will dictate the type."

"What do you mean," he asked.

"Foxes are dog types," he paused and said. "Kind of... I could add a dog or wolf to the Fox scroll, but I couldn't add a reptile or a bird because they're too dissimilar. Do you understand?"

"Okay, so if my first creature is an eagle," Sasuke said. "Technically I could add another bird, like a sparrow, but not a cat or dog."

"Yeah," Naruto said. "However, it's usually best to not do that anyway because of animal family groupings and all have different territory requirements."

"Interesting," Sasuke said. "I'm still interested in making one."

"Okay, I'll get you to improve your writing until you can copy the primary spell without any flaws," the blond told him. The dark haired boy just shrugged, as they walked up to Tazuna's house.

"Welcome back boys," Kakashi-sensei said. The two boys looked around and then looked up. They used the Shunsin no Jutsu, a D-Level ninjutsu technique, (...i...) to flicker up to the roof to join their sensei. The passing was only noted by the misty sense of water in the air. "That's a good grasp of the technique."

"Haku taught us that one," Naruto said. "We needed it in order to get to a blacksmith shop."

"It looks like I'll be testing the two of you soon," the Jounin told them. He looked them over and noted that they seemed healthy enough. "We're leaving in the morning. Make sure that you have all of your gear packed. I suggest letting Tsunami wash the clothing you took with you and that you wear something else for the remainder of the day."

"Yes sensei," Naruto said, hopping down to the room that the boys had been sharing. He pulled out his pack from the corner and began to look over his things.

Sasuke stayed behind to ask, "Did she improve or change?"

"Judge that for yourself," Kakashi-sensei said. "I'll support whatever decision Team Seven makes."

"Thank you for that Kaka-sensei," the black haired boy said. He hopped down to do the same as his blond counterpart. They sorted clothing for washing and decided to go to a bathhouse in order to scrub themselves clean before putting on clean clothing.

When they came back, Tsunami said, "You boys go find us some of those tubers you'd brought back the last time you were in the forest and we'll add them to the meal. If you find any seasonal fruit, pick some up and I'll make us something sweet for dessert."

"Yes ma'am," they said and each picked up a wicker basket by the door with a small harvesting sickle.

Sakura came back from her round of the village and noticed that the boys' clothes were hanging on the line drying. She rushed into the house and asked, "Where are they? Where's Sasuke?"

"I sent them to harvest a few things in the woods," Inari's mother said. "They should be back soon. Supper's almost ready, why don't you help me set the table for everyone. I hear that you're leaving tomorrow morning."

"Yes," Sakura said and moved into the room to help her out. The boys came back about twenty minutes later. They hesitated at the door because they both sensed the chakra signature belonging to the pink haired girl.

"You first," Sasuke whispered to the blond boy.

"Okay," Naruto said. He opened the door and called out, "Tsunami-san, we're back." His hair was displaced by a gust of pink wind that completely by-passed him. He moved with Shinobi speed to rescue the herbs, tubers and seasonal ground fruit that they'd been able to find and had been knocked out of the black haired boy's hands when he was pounced on. The blond took both baskets to the woman's kitchen.

"Welcome back," Inari's mother greeted him.

"Thank you," Naruto said. "Is there anything I can do to help? I can peel the tubers, if you like."

"Yes, please," the woman said. "Do five large ones, if you found some?" The blond nodded and sat on the high stool that her son normally sat on when he watched his mom prepared a meal. They conversed about foods and how to prepare them, while ignoring the slight commotion just outside the house.

Sasuke had used the Shunsin technique to flicker away from the girl. He chose to let her complain to empty air, while he sought out the kid, Inari, who'd they noticed fishing, as they'd walked back from the forest. He sat down quietly by the boy and watched as the boy used a simple pole and line.

"You don't talk much, do you," Inari observed. "Can I ask why?"

The last Uchiha, shrugged and then said, "Not many care to listen to what I have to say. My parents and family were kind of elite in the village too, so there's a standard emotional distance to maintain."

"Maintain for whom," the boy asked as he hauled on his rod. There was a fish on the line and he added it to the basket that he was going to bring to his mom. The basked was full, so the two slowly walked up to the house.

"Me, I guess," Sasuke said. "I don't want to forget them."

"I get it," the boy said. Then he called out, "Mom, we're home. I caught five fish, two are big ones."

"Bring them in here," the woman called back. "We'll add them to the stew."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The following morning, Team Seven with Hyuga Tokuma and Inuzuka Risa were standing at the start of the bridge that would lead them to the mainland. Tazuna stood there with a few of the men that helped with the construction of the bridge. His daughter and the boy, Inari were there too.

"Thanks to all of you our bridge has finally been completed," the old man said. "But you know it's going to be awfully quiet and dull without you guys around."

Kakashi-sensei said, "We enjoyed your hospitality."

"That's right," Naruto said. "Thank you, Tsunami-san for all those cooking tips. Inari we'll come back to visit you some time."

He scratched the whisker mark on his right cheek when he heard the kid say, "You'd better."

The kid was getting emotional and that was affecting the blond Jinchuriki who had very few people in the world actually care about him. "Aw, Inari, don't let it get you down," Naruto said. "Good-byes are part of life as much as laughter is, so you can cry if you want to."

"No way," the boy whimpered. "B..but...y...you can if you want to...N..Naruto onii-san..." (big brother)

"Me," Naruto said. He patted the boy on his head and then turned to walk down the bridge. "No way," he replied, although he had tears falling down his face and knew that he'd be feeling it for a while.

'_That damn kid got to me again,_' he thought. '_Big brother, huh,... I've only been called that by two people in my past life and he's the first again in this life. (sniffle) Damn brat!_'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC...**

(...i...) www dot leafninja dot com /ninjutsu dot php (you know what to do, remove the spaces and change the word dot)


	16. Chapter 16

**CH 16**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The Konoha ninjas were fast approaching their village coming home from a surprising mission in the Land of Waves. They were all eager to get home. However it was a good C-Rank mission that finished well. Plus they'd had an added bonus when a high paying B-Rank mission was requested, while they'd been in the area, in order to ensure that the bridge got built without further interference. Talk about being at the right place at the right time.

Their journey home took less time then it did to travel to the Bridge Builder's village. However for some, it felt like it was taking too long to get back home. Sasuke just wanted to get away from the pink burr that continued to ignore his wishes to be left alone or to leave him be when he's training with his blond teammate.

Naruto had been pushed aside again and again and again…by Sakura's selfish needs to manipulate the Uchiha's time. At least the boys were able converse using coded hand signs that their sensei had taught them, well the man actually handed the boys a scroll that they quickly used Kage Bushin to help memorize the signs in order to use them. They'd taken to talking in sign in order to prevent the pink haired girl's freakishly, loud voice from damaging their eardrums when she was upset because someone wasn't paying attention to her.

'_This didn't turn out how I thought it would,_' the blond contemplated things while looking in, hopefully, the last campfire for a long while. '_Sakura was supposed to have matured more than this. What the hell went wrong?_'

(…_Gaki…_) The fox rumbled from his slumber. (…_If I tell will you, will you stop pissing and moaning about it…_)

(…_Yeah sure_…) Naruto said, wondering what the fox would say about it. (…_Do you have an idea of what's wrong with her?_…)

The fox huffed and then said (…_From what I understand, in your __**past life**__ that girl was present on the bridge and had witnessed some kind of traumatic event. It didn't happen on this mission, so there was no reason for her to mature…yawn, like you wanted her to… now let…us, yawn…sleep…_)

Naruto stilled upon hearing that. (…_I never realised…wow. Thanks! I'll think about that a little later, oyasumi_…) (good night or 'night)

(…_Oyasumi, Papa_…) Kita said with a yawn. (…_Oyasumi, gran'pa…_)

(…_Whatever, sleep now…_) Kurama said. Somehow his words were enough to allow the blond to turn over, close his eyes and go to sleep.

Sasuke had taken to sharing a tent with Naruto because there was an incident early on during their journey back to their village, where he woke up with a face full of pink hair. He'd woken up screaming at the girl and telling her that he'd charge her with invasion of privacy the next time she even thought about doing it again. He could tell that she was about to ignore his wishes, when Naruto signed to him that he'd share his tent and set up wards.

The Uchiha wasn't the only one shocked by the girl's strange, possessive and stalker-like actions. Kakashi and Tokuma shared a look that said this would have to go in the mission report. Risa was stunned and couldn't wait to go tell Akiko how her cousin had acted on a mission away from Konoha. It might seem like harmless gossip, but this was something that the Haruno family needed to know.

The black haired boy was forever grateful that the blond knew Fuuinjutsu because that was what had been used and worked. Dark ink writing marked several words in key locations of the tent and that prevented anyone of the opposite gender from entering it. "We'll just test this now," Naruto had said. "That way if it works, we can sell the idea to the tent makers."

"I don't care what you do so long as it does work," Sasuke had told him with a shudder. He'd watched the blond staring into the fire that last night of travel wondering what the boy was thinking about. He also knew that he boy was going to be out like a light as soon as he entered the tent.

"Oyasumi, Teme," Naruto told him, as he lay on top of his sleeping blanket and fell straight to sleep.

"Dobe," Sasuke said. "Oyasumi," he whispered.

This was a rare moment that he could look at the boy and it was then that observed some of things that he'd never seen before. The blond boy looked young in his sleep, but there was also a tension in the body that spoke of being ready to spring into action.

'_Two years on a Genin team_,' the black haired boy thought. '_He had to start over with Team Seven…That doesn't seem fair. He'd already been to one Chunin exam and is probably going to miss out on any new ones because of our bad team dynamics…Unless we can make some changes, like getting rid of that pink haired dead weight._'

Sasuke yawned, lay down and muttered, "There's gotta be a way to fix this."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The next morning the boys woke up, they changed and packed away most of their stuff. Then they did what they've been doing ever since Sasuke started sharing a tent with Naruto. They talked using only hand signs. They'd been doing this so long that it was almost interesting because it wouldn't take them that much more to be speaking completely in sign language. They'd have to learn that form of speaking before using it.

(…What can we do?…) Sasuke asked. (…Having her on your team is holding you back from promotions…)

(…Well there are several options…) Naruto signed back. (…We continue on as is and hope that eventually she changes. We can force her to do intensive training and I mean by badgering her into it. Then there's the official option. We can put the request in writing and submit it to the Council. If we write it now, we can have Kaka-sensei submit them at the same time as the mission report and then the Council and Hokage would have to seriously consider it. Plus he'd be aware of what we wanted and why…)

(…Does that mean that she'd be re-assigned to another team…) Sasuke asked and received a nod. (…But what about our team? Are they going to assign some new Genin with us to take her place?…)

(…That's what they do, but_…_) Naruto paused and looked through the crack of the tent door to Risa and her ninja dog. (…We could also make a particular request for a specific Genin to be placed on our team…)

(…She's really good with bombs…) Sasuke said. (…I do want to continue learning about them…)

(…She's also studied all of the scrolls that you've lent her and she's been successful in learning most of those elemental spells…) Naruto commented. (…Even, if they were the three lowest levels…)

(…I know…) Sasuke replied. (…Even the dog learned a fire spell, it was only E-Level, but the thing is just a pup. Can you imagine what he'll be like when he gets older and bigger, doing huge fire spells? It would be like having a fire breathing dog on your team…)

(…Makes you wonder how many spells Sakura learned, doesn't it…) Naruto said with a pointed look.

(…Why her…) Sasuke asked. (…Don't get me wrong I don't mind, but doesn't she have a problem with that hand of hers…)

(…She's ready for the Chunin Rank…) Naruto said. (…I don't know the reason, but I suspect that they don't want someone with that kind of disability defending the village or maybe something else is wrong with the treatment she's getting. However, she hasn't even been given the opportunity to work with a Genin team as a temporary forth. We could work with her and there's always a way to compensate for a disability, especially on a team that cares…)

(…I've seen her training…) Sasuke said. (…If something's hard, she tries harder. If something's messy, she doesn't care. We'd need her placed with us as soon as possible in order to get the teamwork down. She deserves the Chunin Rank, like you…)

Naruto scratched his cheek, embarrassed to have heard that admission from someone that has always looked down on him. (…I'm glad because I think that unless we have a fully functioning Genin team we won't be invited to the next Chunin exams, which I have a feeling will be happening soon…)

(…Can you tell me what to expect during a Chunin exam?…)

(…The first part is something written, but it's really about information gathering more than testing what you know…) Naruto told him. (…They're going to be watching for obvious cheating and there's also another component to it, but I've a feeling that that's different with every exam…)

(…Okay…) Sasuke said nodding his head and understanding that part. He smirked and then asked, (…Can you make this eye shield work in Konoha too?…)

Naruto snorted and signed, (…Of course. The second part of the Chunin exam is extreme survival. We'll be given a task to complete and it's guaranteed that we will be fighting the other teams. However to pass the second part, it needs to be done as a team too. No one can be injured beyond reason and no one can die, unless the rules are stated differently…)

(…What about the last part of the exam…) Sasuke asked.

(…We didn't make it to that point…) Naruto said. (…Tokuma-sensei did mention that it was a display of skills, more than likely we'd need to demonstrate those in one-on-one battles. But that part I'm not too sure about…)

(…That's good enough for me…) Sasuke said. (…Can you write the request to make changes to Team Seven? Kakashi-sensei did say that he'd support our decision when I asked him about her the day we came back from training with Zabuza…)

Naruto pulled out a scroll that he'd been working on. It was a basic mission report of Team Seven and how it was currently functioning. The very first part contained the request to have Genin Haruno Sakura removed from the team and a recommendation, as to who her replacement should be. He handed it over to Sasuke and said, (…Write up one that looks similar. Make sure that your request and recommendation is added at the very beginning and then you can list the things you've learned as opposed to Sakura's failure to learn the same. We'll have to stand together and you do know that she'll feel betrayed because of this…)

(…That doesn't matter…) Sasuke said. (…She's making us pay for her lack of effort. We can't let this go on! It's just not working team wise…) He took the paper and ink offered. Slowly he built his case and even though it looked similar he still added the fact that the girl had crawled into his tent uninvited and that her unwanted attentions were very distracting during the mission. He even added that the senseis had to use a Jutsu to test him for sexual assault. Luckily the girl had only been sleeping beside him that one time.

Naruto looked at them both and said, (…They're not word-for-word and they look to have been written at different times. That's good. You give them to Kakashi-sensei while I pack up my tent…)

The boys got out and noticed that the others were slowly waking up. "Sensei," the black haired boy said to the Jounin still reading the perverted orange book, nearby. "Could you please turn these in when you submit the mission reports?"

The man skimmed through them and said, "Are you sure?"

"Yes sensei," Sasuke said looking the man in the eyes and bowed.

"I can see that you are," Kakashi-sensei said, having also noted that Naruto bowed at the same time before the blond turned back to finish his packing. "I said I'd back you up. Be prepared for probing questions."

"Thank you," Sasuke said and then he went to help break up the camp.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Upon entering the village, Sasuke felt the constant chakra tug from the Seal that changed his is eye colour and hid his activated Sharingan disappear. He blinked and noted that nothing affected his vision. However, he officially knew about the changes when he heard, "Sasuke-kun," Sakura said with a happy fan girl squeal. "Your eyes are back to normal. I was getting kind of worried about that."

"Hn," Sasuke said and then looked to his sensei. His blond companion did the same because they were waiting for instructions.

"We've completed our mission," Kakashi-sensei told them. "I'll turn in our mission reports tonight and tomorrow we'll meet at our regular time and place to discuss the next one." He used the Shunsin technique to flicker away quickly in order to take care of reporting the details to the Sandaime.

Sasuke signed to Naruto that he wanted to stay with the boy for the night.

Naruto tilted his head, but nodded his agreement. He watched the black haired boy walk away and then shrugged at the others that were still nearby.

Risa called out to the Uchiha saying, "Wait, what about your scrolls?"

"Risa," Naruto said getting her attention. "Don't worry about them. He knows where to find you. Did you manage to learn all of them?"

"There are a couple, that I'm having difficulties getting the hang of, but I think it's because of my minor affinity," the Inuzuka girl said.

"Well when you've succeeded you can give them to me to give to Sasuke," Naruto said. "He might have some others that you can borrow at a later date."

"All right," Risa said. "You come by someday to see me, if you want to practice Taijutsu."

"You betcha," the blond said, as he walked away from the others. "See you around Tokuma-sensei. See you tomorrow Sakura."

"Naruto," the pink haired girl replied absentmindedly. Her shoulders were slumped and then she plodded all the way to her home.

"Tokuma-sensei," Risa said.

"Hm," the man replied.

"Do you think that Team Seven is going to be all right," the girl turned to look at him.

"That'll depend," Tokuma answered. "That girl really has to get her act together, but it might also be too late for her. Come on, I'll escort you home."

"Thank you Sensei," Risa said and Akoba barked his thanks too.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The Hokage read the mission report because he'd been curious to see if his Jounin knew about this new and mysterious company in the Land of Waves. He was also curious to find out how come the team was specifically requested for the B-Ranked mission, even though it made sense to give the mission to group that was already in position to deal the request.

He'd then been surprised to see the three formal requests by all members of Team Seven to have changes made regarding cell members. "All three," the old man asked. "I don't understand."

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head and said, "The boys handed theirs to me, together. Their requests are similar. They don't know that Sakura submitted one to have Naruto removed from the team."

"Interesting," the Hokage commented and then read the girl's reasoning, which from his vast experience as Hokage and leader of the village, he'd still been surprised by it because it was the first time he'd seen anything like it. It was a frivolous piece of selfishness and it contained no valid reason, other than her belief that Naruto was a '_bad_' influence to the Uchiha. "She doesn't even provide supporting information, as to why the boy should be removed."

"I never showed them how to write a report," Kakashi stated. "I suspect that Naruto learnt it from his previous placement on Team Eleven and showed Sasuke how to do it."

"The Inuzuka girl is still attending rehabilitation sessions," the old man said. "However her progress in that matter appears to have been stunted." He paused to think and then signalled for one of his ANBU in the room to go fetch Naruto.

The boy had a strange skill that may be of use to the girl. His monkeys had informed him how his grandson's friend Udon had been afflicted by some kind of spore that prevented the boy from breathing properly. His summoned creatures had not be able to fully observe the technique, but the way the children acted the following morning during one of their '_survival trips_' with their '_Boss_', it was clear that the blond Genin had done something. The young boy, Udon, had been breathing easier ever since and no more annoying '_snot-bubble_' was present on the young boy's face.

The ANBU returned with a broken wrist, a limp in his step and a couple of cuts to his uniform. At everyone's startled expression he admitted sheepishly, "I startled him and there was a very good trap on the window."

The blond appeared next to him, fully dressed in his darks browns, reds and oranges, with a scowl on his face. The boy bowed to his Hokage and said, "You summoned me, Jiji-sama?"

"Naruto," Kakashi-sensei said in a tone to chastise the boy.

"I was asleep," Naruto told his teacher with a pout. "It was the first time in a long time that I could fully, finally relax and that idiot completely ruined it by activating my window trap."

"A window trap... really Hawk?" The Hokage questioned with a funny quirk of his eyebrow.

"An '_invisible_', '_undetectable_' window trap," Hawk replied in a wry tone. "It had a snap trap that captured my wrist and broke it at the same. Then the trap released chakra guided Senbon needles that targeted only the one that triggered it, which was when he woke up and kicked me in the shin, telling me to keep quiet."

"A ninja is always aware of his environment and I'm just glad that he didn't wake up Sasuke," Naruto said. "He'd have been burnt, instead."

"I see," the old man said, removing his pipe from his mouth before it fell from his shocked expression. "I summoned you to ask if you have the ability to heal Genin Inuzuka Risa's hand."

"I'm not sure what you mean," Naruto said. "I'm not a Healer and none of us have trained in any ninja healing techniques."

The old man coughed and a spider monkey landed on his shoulder. "Udon," he said as the blond looked at the small monkey summon that stared back at him. "Two months ago."

"Ah," Naruto said and rubbed the back of his head. "That was something different."

"Can you do something," Kakashi-sensei asked.

"I can do many things," Naruto told his sensei and basically everyone in the room. "Specific things are another matter. What are my orders, Hokage?"

Sarutobi really liked this boy and he liked the fact that the information was told in never a clear manner. It was such fun to guess about things that this boy may or may not know. "Genin Uzumaki," the old man said. "Your orders are to ensure that Genin Inuzuka Risa passes her next physical assessment, which I believe is in three days time. It's the requirement for her to be re-instated into the Active Genin Ranks or else she'll have to be placed on permanent disability."

Naruto bowed and then turned to his sensei, "May I be excused for the next two days?"

Kakashi-sensei smiled his moon-eyed smile and said, "I believe a small holiday is in order. I'll send a notice to Sakura and you can inform Sasuke. We'll meet Friday morning. By then the results and..." He received a nod from the Hokage. "The evaluation of our two missions should be completed."

Naruto nodded to the others in the room and then flickered away to the surprise of the others in the room. "Shunsin no Jutsu," the old man stated. "You taught them the technique."

"They are quick learners," Kakashi-sensei told the man without stating specifically that he did or did not teach them that particular technique. "The boys have also been given this," he produced the scroll of hand signs and said, "They learned it in a short time period and have used that method to converse most of the time on their way back to the village. I believe they did it to prevent friction with the third member of their team. I strongly recommend that they learn sign language before they begin to invent their own. It'd be wise that they do so for future undercover purposes, of course."

The ANBU in the room were surprised to see the scroll that contained their hand signs. Jounin Rank knew how to use them and it was usually learned when you gain the Chunin Rank. But to hear that two Genin had learned it quickly and had used them, well this was nearly unheard of.

"What of the Haruno girl," the old man asked. "Has she learned the Shunsin technique or any of the hand signs?"

"No," Kakashi told everyone in the room. "Nor has she approached me with a request to be taught. I do not even believe she noticed the hand signs between the two boys."

"We'll meet the current Team Seven, Friday at ten o'clock in the morning with our decision," the Hokage said. "Your team is dismissed until then." The Jounin bowed and used the flicker technique to leave the office. He did this for a specific purpose.

It was to show the difference in his and the boy's technique, which was immediately commented on by one of the ANBU. "The kid used only one leaf, wind and dust motes," Hawk said. "How could he have left with less of a trace than his sensei...?"

"Hawk," the Hokage said. "You're on desk duty until you've been cleared by the medical core. Go get treated." The Hawk ANBU left the room, leaving the Hokage with one guard and several attendants outside the door.

The Sandaime pulled the active Genin lists to find a couple that were not formed or assigned to a team and then he thought, '_Maybe now would be a good time to implement a couple of Genin medical first aid teams_.'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto returned to his apartment, changed back into his comfy sleepwear and was about to fall asleep when he heard the black haired boy walk into his room. The blond sighed and said, "Can't sleep?"

"You left," Sasuke said. "You were gone and I...um..."

Naruto sat up and said, "The Hokage wants me to do something, so our team meeting for tomorrow has been cancelled. We only need to show up Friday morning at our regular time."

"What are you going to do," the black haired boy asked.

"Hi..mi...stu," Naruto said (secret). Then he looked closely at the other boy. "Why don't you bring your bedding in here? It might be easier for you to fall asleep, if you have company."

"I never used to have this problem before," Sasuke told him as he dragged his sleeping bag and the mattress he'd been given into the blond's room. "Ever since she was there..." He shuddered. "How could I not know that she'd even crawled in?"

"You didn't set traps," Naruto said. "However you should have been aware that another person was there, unless they used something to keep you under? Did you eat anything funny that night?"

"The tea she'd given me was off," Sasuke confirmed. "Risa never let her give me any more during the journey back. Akoba tripped Sakura the second night and Risa handed me my cup every night after that."

"She's smart," Naruto yawned. "She wanted to return your scrolls even though she hadn't learned a couple of the spells yet."

"I want her to continue to teach me bomb making," Sasuke replied with a yawn. "It'd be nice to get rid of the bad buildings in my compound."

"Let me and Risa stay with you for the next two days," Naruto suggested. "She can continue teach you, while I work with her hand."

"What happened to it," Sasuke asked.

"Burned," Naruto stated. "Really badly burned during the winter Chunin exam in Suna, but I think something else is going on and it might be something that no one is detecting at the medical centre."

"Okay," the black haired boy said. "You two can stay with me and we'll figure something out. Thanks, Dobe."

"Oyasumi, Teme," Naruto said.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The following day before the sun even peeked over the Hokage monument, Naruto was doing his regular run around Konoha village. He was out of practice with the weights he was carrying, so he only ran around three times. Then he continued his routine of exercises and stretching before running with Sasuke to the Uchiha Clan compound to have a look around the place.

"It's depressing," Naruto said. "I'm sorry for what happened here, but most of the buildings look gloomy and very depressing."

"I know," Sasuke said. "At least it's fenced in, but...what do you think?"

"Let's explore a couple of the buildings," Naruto said excitedly. "Unless there's still personal stuff in them?"

"No, there's nothing left in a lot of them," Sasuke said.

"What no secret rooms or hidden passages," Naruto said looking at the other boy in shock. "That doesn't sound very fun."

"I've never found any," Sasuke said and he noticed that the blond had his hands on his hips and was looking at him with his head tilted. "What?"

"Sharingan," Naruto said. "Underneath the underneath, your family's Kekkei Genkai can see..."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Then he ran into the main building and to the room that been his father's office. He knew that he'd seen something there once and he'd always wondered if it had been a trick of the light, however now...

He closed his eyes, concentrated on the chakra and there before his red eyes he saw several outlines in the walls, one in the ceiling and a couple in the floor. "Why did I never think..."

"You only just got it," Naruto said. "I doubt that you'd have been able to see anything without it." He knew that he had to leave the boy to his exploration. "Before you begin that can you pick a building for us to stay in for the next two days?"

"Us," Sasuke said. He turned to look at the blond through his Sharingan eyes and noted that the boy had dropped his goggles. There was something about he blond's eyes that made him think that he had an ocular Jutsu too, but he didn't want to press the matter.

"Risa," Naruto reminded the boy. "You wanted to learn bomb making..."

"Oh, you guys can stay here in the guest rooms," Sasuke said and then blinked to turn off his Sharingan. "I still need to get used to activating it."

"We can work on that too if you want," Naruto said, putting up his goggles.

"Why'd you drop them," the black haired boy wondered.

"I cycled through the lens to see if they'd detect anything," Naruto said with a shrug. "I only saw three outlines, but maybe before you get too involved in exploring them, we should deal with our team problems."

"All right," Sasuke said. "Follow me," he led them to a smallish building and explained. "This was the school room that the Clan had. In the mornings the smaller children attended and then in the afternoon some of the older kids and cousins did. This was before choices were made to attend the Ninja Academy or some other program in the village."

Naruto walked into the place and looked around. It was basically a square building with some windows on two walls and a full-length chalkboard wall at the far end. It had been built to slope, which was interesting to know. "Any hidden rooms here," he asked. "Why don't you make sure of that and I'll go kidnap Risa and Akoba?"

"Thanks," Sasuke said looking out the window.

"Don't do anything stupid like getting injured, ya hear," Naruto said and snickered while running out of the room to the sound of someone saying, '_Baka_'.

Two hours later, Sasuke was in his private room, looking at a couple of old school journals that he'd found hidden in the floorboards of the schoolroom. They were enlightening and scary too. '_The lives of my cousins are in these_,' he thought. '_I'd forgotten about most of them and yet here they are..._'

Naruto had returned with Risa and was down in the living room area of the main house so that the black haired boy wasn't alone in the building. The blond had explained to his ex-teammate what they'd done regarding their combined request for a change in team members. He also explained the conditions under which she'd be considered a good candidate to replace the pink haired Kunoichi.

"I have two days to see if I can figure out what's going on with that hand of yours," Naruto said. "Are you willing..."

"Naruto, stop," Risa said. "Do whatever you think you need to do, okay? I trust you. Akiko and I have always trusted you even if you are two years younger than us. You just seem confident about some things, so do your worst."

"I'd rather do my best," Naruto said with a smile. "Speaking of Akiko, she says hello and wished you good luck. Plus if this works, she said that you had to go to her for the coolest gloves she could make you, so that you'd have some type of support for when you're placed on your next Genin team."

Risa swallowed past her nervousness and then removed the medical glove that her therapist had ordered her to wear. The girl's left hand had awful scars on it, but the medical core of Suna had been very good. They prevented further damage and infection to the hand.

Naruto looked at the hand with his regular eyes. He used his hands to feel the muscle and bone. He pushed and pulled at the skin. He bent her fingers and had her straighten them. "Bend them yourself," he said and watched how the fingers curled slowly. "No prevention of motion. Have you been doing this with or without the glove?"

"The therapist said that I had to do this with the glove," Risa said. "I have some medicated lotion that I'm supposed to be using too, here." She gave him a pot of creamy ointment that had him looking at it closely and smelling it. "Is something wrong?"

"I don't know," Naruto said. "Have you been able to wash that stuff off?"

"I was given a special soap," she said. "This is it. It's only to be used on my hand."

"Who told you about this?"

"The therapist," Risa said. "She's a distant cousin, but..."

"Does she hate you or is she jealous that you're a Kunoichi," Naruto asked.

"We never really got along," Risa explained. "I don't know why because I've never done anything against her, but she's dedicated to her job and would not do anything to prevent me from returning to mine."

"Sometimes you don't have to do anything for someone to not like you," Naruto said. He dug out a scroll that he specifically used as medicine storage. He took out a small cake of astringent soap. "I want you to take this and wash your hands completely first. Then I want you to give me a set of your clothing to wash. Once those are done, I'm going to ask you to take a bath and use the products I give you to see if you feel or sense a difference, especially with your hand, okay?"

"Why," Risa asked.

"Do you know why the Hokage asked me to help if I could," Naruto told her and Sasuke as the boy had just rejoined them with some tea on a tray. "Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson, has a friend named Udon, who had troubles breathing some of the time. I basically took them back to nature for a weekend. That's when I found out that the detergent that the boy's mother used was aggravating the boy and causing some of his breathing problems. He had a few other issues, but that was the biggest one."

"So you think that the detergent or some washing product is causing the slow healing," Risa said. "I have been using a couple of new products because of Akoba." The pup growled and whimpered at having been the cause of his bond-mate's issues. "Nonsense," the girl comforted the pup. "You are not to blame. This is just one method of trying to narrow the problem down. It could be one ingredient out of a whole bunch that causing this, so we'll just have to see."

"I'll show you where the machines are," Sasuke told him. "If you have any more laundry, Naruto, that you'd like to get done, just go ahead and do them too."

"Really," Naruto perked up at that. "Thanks Teme," he said as he took the clothing that Risa had given him. "Risa wash your hands first."

"Dobe," Sasuke returned without anger. "Follow me."

An hour later, lines and lines of clothes were fluttering in the soft warm breeze that Naruto called forth to dry them. He was dressed in a pair of simple dull orange overalls without a shirt, with the pant legs rolled up to the knees and he was barefoot. He was sitting on the roof of one of the buildings in order to maintain his elemental clothes dryer.

His black haired teammate was similarly dressed in dull red overalls, watching the clothes flutter. His teammate had washed all of his too. His eyes were half closed in the sun. He was reliving a few pleasant memories of his mother having done his laundry.

A brown haired girl was sitting next to him in dull yellow overalls too, but she was wearing a dull red sleeveless hooded shirt. The hood was specifically reinforced to hold the pup that was snoozing in it without the pup's weight choking her. She was making the fingers of both her hands work through a series of specific fingering walking exercises.

"Well," Naruto said to Risa.

"It's getting easier now," she said. "What's our trade?"

"You get better in time for your next appointment," Naruto said. "Besides this is kind of an unranked, unpaid mission for me. We're going to get you better so that you can return to active duty."

"We can get her to work on the ANBU hand signs," Sasuke said. "She can continue to teach me to make a few simple bombs."

"Oh speaking of hand signs," Naruto said. "Kakashi-sensei dropped this off when I was hanging the clothes on the line."

"Hm," Sasuke said catching the scroll. "Sign language for the deaf?"

"We'll use Kage Bushin for it," Naruto said absentmindedly. "Risa, can you make them?"

"Yes," Risa said. "Tokuma-sensei showed me how to, during our travels to the Land of Waves, I can maintain three. Can the two of you use Shunsin no Jutsu?"

"I can only maintain two," Sasuke told the girl. "Zabuza and Haku taught us the flicker technique."

"Begin the bomb learning in the main house," Naruto told them. He called forth two Bushin. "It's book learning because of formulas first. I'll go ward the school house so we can assemble them later."

The other two looked at each other, shrugged, conjured two Kage Bushin and left the blond alone on the roof to finish doing their laundry using elemental jutsu to dry their clothing.

"Go into a separate room," Naruto told the six clones. "Don't talk, just use the signs and study the sign language scroll." The clones then left him to think about other ways and other things to do to possibly help improve Risa's chances at getting released into a Genin team.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**


	17. Chapter 17

**CH 17**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Team Seven met on the Friday for the first time since they'd returned from the Land of Waves. The two boys were standing on the top of the bridge frames and juggling six balls of different sizes and colours between them. This was one version of a game they'd just invented a couple of days ago.

There was a bridge frame in between the ones the boys were standing on and then they had decided that one ball had to always hit the middle frame. The ball to hit the middle frame was thrown in a predetermined pattern, cycling through the ball colours.

It took them about half an hour to fall into a rhythm and soon the speed of the juggling had increased to the point where Sasuke almost needed his Sharingan to track the balls, but that was his test. How much faster can they do it without activating his Kekkei Genkai accidentally?

It was two days ago that they'd learned to juggle the different sized balls with Risa and from it, being the youngsters they were, they invented a game out of it. The boys had improved the game and were now using it as a training tool while they were waiting for their sensei. This new tool helped with their chakra control, their balance, tracking and their hand to eye coordination.

More importantly, it was fun!

Sakura had arrived to find that she was alone, until she chanced to look up at the word "Red," from Naruto, which had been quickly followed by, "Green" from Sasuke. She gasped and stared at what they were doing. '_There's no way that I'd ever be able to do that,_' she thought. '_How much more do they know? When did they learn this?_'

Kakashi-sensei had kept an eye on his students when they were in the Uchiha compound and had to approve of their ingenious method to get Risa to work with her hand again. He didn't know what happened inside the school building, but he'd observed the outside training that had been done.

He was now watching a game that had been developed two days ago and was amazed as the evolution of it as it happened before his eyes. He looked around and noted that Sakura was standing on the bridge, feet firm on the ground and she had not even selected to join in the game. She hadn't even walked up the bridge frame to observe it more closely. He shook his head and hoped that Risa's medical review had been a success yesterday or else the boys would be severely disappointed.

He flared his chakra to put out a killing intent and he watched to see what the boys would do. The balls fell to the bridge walkway immediately, some bounced into the water and the game was forgotten. The boys were now standing back to back on the middle beam with a small sword out in one hand and throwing items in their opposing hand.

Naruto had four shuriken and his ninja goggles were down. Sasuke had twice as many Senbon and his Sharingan was activated seeking out the enemy.

Kakashi looked around and noted that Sakura had a single kunai out and was looking left and right for the danger. He looked up to the sky, sent a small prayer to his old sensei for guidance and then he jumped down onto the bridge.

"Well done," he told them after he'd released his chakra from the emanation he was putting out. "Why don't you boys put those away? We have a meeting with the Hokage in five minutes."

The weapons were put away quickly and the balls were re-called from where they'd landed including the ones that had fallen into the water. They were put in a net bag and then spun around vertically to spin out the water from their rounded forms. The bag was then hung at the blond Genin's waist to dry further, if needed.

They flitted from rooftop to rooftop and actually arrived in time for their meeting with the leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. The old man had been surprised at the medical report that he'd received from the person that had reviewed Genin Inuzuka Risa's case. This came from someone that had never seen the girl prior to the evaluation that she'd been given the day before.

The medical report had been very informative, as girl had explained to the one reviewing her hand. Part of the problem they'd discovered was that the medical glove that was too small to allow full motion of her hand. The medicine prescribed had muscle-numbing properties and that the new soaps she'd been given to use as a bonding gift for her and her pup contained something similar. They had found that an ingredient conflicted with the properties of the medicine for her hand and aggravated the healing, which resulted in the lack of progress.

During the two days without using the medical glove or medical cream the hand was more flexible and it was evident that in a bit of time the girl would be fine. The person doing the evaluation recommended that she could return to active duty, lightly, as long as the team she'd be placed on kept an eye on the girl's hand and helped her out when needed.

'_With this, I will have no difficulties in letting the girl join a Genin team,_' Sarutobi thought. '_Although I'm wondering about the wisdom of it,_' he had been secretly amused by the coloured dye bombs that had been let loose in the Shinobi Barracks the night before. The coloured smoke had dyed all of the ANBU masks and all uniforms, including those belonging to the Jounin and Chunin that resided in the barracks. All uniforms were dyed in eye-searing fluorescent pinks, purples, blues, greens and reds.

However it wasn't something that he could attribute to Naruto because the boy had been fast asleep at the time it happened. '_Looks like I might have another prankster on my hands._'

The masks were easily cleaned, but the uniforms were not. They couldn't even be replaced because for some reason moths and rodents had eaten and nested in most of the replacement uniforms in storage. That had been an unfortunate discovery, so now there were various ranked ninja strolling around Konoha in bright pink or bright green uniforms. Most of the shops in the marketplace had made a hefty amount of Ryo during the first half hour of their morning sales because they sold a lot of dark coloured clothing dye.

The Hokage was there in his official get up, hat and all. "Team Seven," the old man said looking up. He glanced at the coloured balls and raised an eyebrow at the Jounin sensei. "I have read through all the reports related the two missions you were assigned in Wave Country."

Kakashi only signed in explanation of the coloured toys. (…Training…)

"I've called you here to address some issues of concern that were noted," the Sandaime told them. "I've received four mission reports from the Jounin that accompanied you and three requests for member changes."

"Three," Sakura blurted. Then she looked at the two boys that had made up the rest of Team Seven. "Both of you," she said. "So Sasuke that means you want Naruto gone too, right?"

Kakashi-sensei looked at the girl and said, "Both boys have petitioned to have you removed from Team Seven."

"WHAT?" The pink hair girl shrieked. "WHY? WHY ME? WHY NOT, THAT WASTE OF SPACE, NARUTO?"

"Naruto is not a waste of space, Haruno-kun," the last Uchiha said. He used that name ever since she'd been caught in his tent because that always stopped her from continuing to speak in ear, shattering decibels. "He's been working hard, much harder than either of us. He's succeeded in gaining rank before either of us and he still trains three or four times harder than either of us. He deserves to stay on Team Seven."

"Bu...but... what about me?" She asked looking at him with hopeful, love struck eyes.

"You don't train, you don't try and of the seven elemental spells I've lent you, how many have you successfully done?" Sasuke asked in that bland emotionless, elite Uchiha tone.

"Two," the girl admitted. "My chakra reserves aren't as high as either of yours, you know."

"Have you tried to improve that," Sasuke asked and she flinched. "Have you done all the possible exercises that exist in order to increase or improve your chakra control? We've nearly exhausted our chakra several times in order to learn that kind of control."

"I've done what was asked of me," Sakura admitted. "I've done everything that was asked of me."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and signed to him. (...Do you have anything to add?...)

(...If I say anything, she'll either attack me or...) He paused and then said. (...Who am I kidding? Of course she'll attack me. You keep at it, you're doing fine...)

However it was their sensei that said, "That's the other problem. We had to _ask_ you to improve. We had to tell you that you needed improvement. You asked me only once for assistance. I directed you towards a training regimen that would help you to improve your weak chakra reserves and you've ignored it completely whenever Sasuke was within your sights."

The Hokage held up his hand to stop further arguments and sighed. "It is with regret that Team Seven is disbanded, effective immediately. Genin Haruno Sakura, you're to be recycled to the Ninja Academy for three months to address your lack of self-training issues. You've earned your rank and it will not be taken from you and so you'll still receive the base pay for your rank. However you cannot work on another Genin team or mission until you've addressed your failings. Kakashi will you please escort her to the Ninja Academy, now?"

"Of course," the Jounin said and ushered the pink haired girl out of the meeting room. He knew that if she were to listen to what was going to happen next the girl would completely flip.

The old man then looked at the boys and said, "Genin Uzumaki Naruto and Genin Uchiha Sasuke, you've shown improvement and have exceeded the training set forth for standard Genins. Would the two of you be comfortable remaining on the same team?"

"We would," the boys said together. There was no hesitation in either of their voices or stances. They were both standing at '_parade rest_'.

"Excellent," the Hokage said and nodded his to the ANBU guard in bright purple standing at a side door. The door opened, where Risa had been waiting with Akoba at her feet. "I trust that you boys know Genin Inuzuka Risa and her ninja-dog Akoba."

"Yes sir," they both said, trying to hold in their excitement. The girl was motioned to go stand next to the boys, which she did and her pup sat beside her looking at the old man, as though he was waiting for an order too.

"You three are now Team Seventeen," the Hokage told them. "You'll be instructed jointly by Jounin Hyuga Tokuma and Jounin Hatake Kakashi, until further notice." Tokuma stepped forward and stood behind three Genin. "Genin Inuzuka you still have a bit of rehabilitation to go through, but I believe that working on an active team and with these boys, you may be able to overcome many of your previous obstacles."

"Yes sir," she said with confidence and her dog barked in agreement.

"You three are dismissed, unless you'd like to accept a mission today," the old man threw out there casually. He watched the three exchange glances and then he widened his eyes as they used the military code and hand sign for the word (…Yes…) to their sensei.

"I believe that they would," Tokuma-sensei said, pursing his lips to stop from smiling at the looks that the three were getting from the Hokage and the ANBU guards in the room.

"Excellent," the old man said. "It's a simple upper D-Rank, of course." He tossed the scroll to the boys' new sensei, who quickly ushered the three Genin out of the room before he even bothered to open it.

Then the old man had to chuckle when he heard, '_Scheming Jiji-sama, you're gonna..._', muffled...muffle grumble and footsteps stomped away from the room.

'_I guess, they are still children after all, since they couldn't maintain their professional stance much longer,_' the old man thought with a grin.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"That old fart," Naruto said with a pouting scowl, as they left the building. "Babysitting Konohamaru and his two twisted side-kicks, oh, man." The black haired boy only sighed.

"Don't worry about it," Risa said. "We can teach them to juggle, what do you think?"

"It will take them a long time to learn and it will tire them," Sasuke observed and then shrugged. "Why not?"

"Juggle," Tokuma-sensei asked. "When did you…" The black haired boy told him that it was a couple of days ago that they'd learnt.

"More importantly, how are we going to find them," Risa asked.

"Oh that one's easy," Naruto said. "You guys stay undetected or about two blocks away from me and just watch." He hopped about a block away from his new team and then dropped down to walk on the sidewalk.

Akoba growled and drew his companion's attention to something. "No way," she whispered and then she saw it…well them. "Oh, kawaii!" (cute)

Sasuke flinched and then noticed the looks weren't directed at him, but at some point down on the street. "What…" He said very softly. "There's no way…"

Tokuma looked and he too had noticed the scene. "Oh that is… kind of cute!" He stated and then asked, "Do any of you have a camera?"

"I do," Risa said. "Polaroid, though. Is that okay?"

"Don't keep talking about it, hand it over before we miss this," Tokuma said, holding out his hand for the device. As soon as he had it, he snapped several pictures and kept handing them to the two Genin next to him. It was funny to watch the blond Genin play ignorant, then chastise the kids for being obvious and then promise them a treat.

"What are we going to do with all these," Sasuke finally asked, looking at the handful of pictures in his hands.

"Give them to Naruto so he can transfer them to colour pencil or watercolour and then use them as bribes to get higher ranked missions from the Hokage, of course," Tokuma told him seriously. Sasuke looked like he didn't believe his new sensei, so the man asked, "How did you think we got the mission to the Land of Wave, so easily?"

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto had just hopped down and knew what his team were going to do. He put his hands behind his head and walked down the street for a bit, just whistling the most annoying song in the Shibobi world, '_99 Ninjas that Battle and War_' (…i…) because it repeats and counts down.

He felt the small trio begin their covert mission to catch their '_Boss_' unawares. If they could successfully blend into their environment he'd treat them to a meal. If they didn't he'd treat them to a bit of ninja training. Either way the kids always won.

"Huh," the blond played along and looked around for a bit. "Suspicious," he muttered to himself. He walked several more feet before he passed a large telephone pole and then just as he passed it, he sighed.

The fence boards were vertical and the camo-drape had horizontal wooden boards drawn on it. He walked up to it and did three quick, power finger flicks to the small foreheads that were hidden behind the drape.

A young voice cried out, "Yeouch."

A second yelped, "Itai, itai…" (ouch)

"Oochies," the third sounded, and the drape fell.

"Come on you guys," Naruto whined with his hands on his hips. "You know better than that about the wooden fence slats. If they're vertical then…"

"The drape should be vertical too," all three lined up and said the phrase.

"So why were you three holding it up, like this?" Naruto then demonstrated their error.

"Oops," Konohamaru said. "As always, you're observational skills far exceed our abilities to conceal our poor selves, Boss."

"Boss is so cool," Udon said a now and without any sniffle or annoying snot-bubble.

"He's handsome too," Moegi said with a twitter behind her hand.

"Oi, Dobe," Sasuke said jumping down from the nearby roof. "Looks you've got yourself quite the fan club here?"

"Eh," Naruto said. "They're all right." He waved the others down and said to the three kids. "Troops, I want you to meet three special people. These are my friends and the members of Team Seventeen, plus one of our Jounin senseis."

"Wow you're a Hyuga," Udon said looking at Tokuma-sensei with awe.

"Are you a good Kunoichi," Moegi asked Risa. "Oh, you've ninja-dog, that's so cool!"

"That's Tokuma-sensei, Inuzuka Risa, this is Uchiha Sasuke and the dog is Akoba," Naruto said. "These three are my minions, Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon."

"Hmph," Sasuke noised and playing along, he crossed his arms. "Minions, since when have you earned the right to have minions? They seem like trouble to me, I wonder if we should even teach them how to juggle or to play our new game? They don't look very coordinated."

"Oooo, an Uuu-chi-ha," Konohamaru said in a taunting voice. "Sharingan active yet?" He turned to look at the black haired boy of Team Seventeen and then he jumped back with yelped, "YIKES!"

"What do you think," Sasuke stared at the kid with his red eyes and two tomoe points not activated or whirled. He pulled away quickly to prevent anything from happening. He blinked to release the chakra that called them forth.

Konohamaru gulped and clung to Naruto's arm, shaking it. "Is he a good one, Boss?"

"Yes," Naruto said looking directly into the eyes of the last Uchiha. "He definitely is one of the good ones." He shook his arm and then said, "Neh, did you guys want to learn a new game or not?"

"You really know a new game," Moegi asked excitedly. "A training game?"

"Yep," Naruto said. "But first you have to know how to juggle."

"Juggling is easy," Konohamaru said in a bragging tone. "It's basic for hand-eye training."

"Oh really," Sasuke said. "Well then let's go test it at my compound. No one will bother us there."

"Good idea," Risa said. "It will actually be the best place for Akoba to run around too." The dog twirled on the spot, happy with that decision.

They spent the rest of the day teaching the kids to juggle with more than three balls and then they taught them the new game. "This is something we made up while waiting for Kakashi-sensei this morning," Naruto told them. "First we need three…"

"Dobe," Sasuke said. "How about just drawing circles in the earth?"

"Good idea," Naruto said. "How far apart?"

"Start small, about two feet should do it," Sasuke said drawing his circle and Naruto drew his six feet away. "Wait, Risa have you been able to call upon Earth Style?"

"Yes, why," she asked curious about what her new teammate wanted.

"Can you pull up a slab at the midpoint between our circles," Sasuke asked. The girl nodded and the pulled up a cylinder slab about three inches up from the ground. "Perfect, now Dobe let's show 'em…how many?"

"Teme," Naruto replied without venom. "Four balls should do it to start." He pulled the four smaller balls, began juggling them back and forth with the Uchiha. Then he said, "Now."

"Blue," Sasuke called out.

Naruto tossed him in a juggling formation, the red ball, the yellow ball, and then he bounced the blue ball on the slab and tossed the orange ball.

"Orange," Naruto called out. The other boy, sent the yellow, bounced the orange, tossed the blue and the red.

The children were bright and lit up at the challenge. "If you have a three man team," Moegi called out. "That third person should be calling out the ball colour."

"You're quite right, Moegi-chan," Sasuke said to the girl. "Would you do the honours?"

"YES," she shouted. She jumped up and down, clapping her hands. "Red... Blue... Red... Orange…"

Risa looked at the other two boys and said, "Come on, I'll pull up a slab for the both of you, how about we begin with three balls?"

"YES," the two boys said excited to try out the new game. The kids were bright and no one felt left out of the game because Moegi challenged Risa to it. They played it for most of the afternoon, until it was time to bring them back to their parents, near the mission office.

Tokuma-sensei was in charge of making sure that most of it was captured in photographs to give to the children's parents and for Naruto to have something to work with. The blond selected several to keep and gave the rest to separate and hand out to the kids' parents.

They were passing by a small shop that had a little bit of everything and Naruto looked at Risa, gave her some money, signed for her to get something from the shop. Then he walked away.

Sasuke noticed the exchange and wondered why, until he remembered about the demon fox. The kids were not aware of what happened, but they were completely aware that when the girl came back to them, she had three bags with her.

As soon as they'd arrived and were standing in front of the mission office, Naruto called out, "Ten-shun."

Quick and cute as you please, the three '_minions_' lined up. "All right, men, and pretty lady," he winked at the girl, who giggled. "Successful completion of this mission hinged on several important factors. Juggling is fun, but also, what…?"

"A training tool," Udon said out loud, holding his hand up.

"Correct," Naruto said and he nodded to Risa, who handed a bag to Akoba who delivered it to the person that answered correctly.

"Next," the blond continued. "A key element had been added and what was once a game for two became…"

"A training tool for three," Konohamaru said with a wide grin showing the larger gap in his front teeth.

"Correct," Naruto replied and the boy received his prize via dog. "Now," he said with a lifted eyebrow. "When can a training tool be used?"

"When you're idle or waiting for orders or after missions and…" Moegi paused. "And… and… only during recess."

"Correct," Naruto said and waited for to receive her small prize. "Well done troops, diss…missed…" The parents and the Hokage had long since seen this in action and there were no other words for it, but super cute.

Moegi and Udon ran to their parents, who smiled at the Jinchuriki and waved to him and the boy's teammates.

Konohamaru just stomped over to Ebisu-sensei who still had a somewhat sour look on his face, but he'd long since grudgingly agreed that the blond's interference actually helped get '_Honourable Grandson of the Hokage_' to refocus on his studies. It usually only worked, if the kid thought that he got away with escaping the planned lessons for the day.

Team Seventeen had been busy taking pictures of the parade and presentation. Risa had bought a couple of toy Polaroid cameras and lots of extra film. She gave a dark blue one to Sasuke, a dark purple to Tokuma-sensei and a grey one to Kakashi-sensei, who finally showed up, although the Genin knew that he'd been watching them from a distance. She even gave a bright orange one to Naruto, who laughed at the colour and enjoyed the joke.

"Naruto gets first pick of the pictures for specialized purposes," she told them. "He does give them back once he's done with them."

"Well," Tokuma-sensei said. "Come on it's time to write up the mission report."

"Write the report," Sasuke asked.

"We write the supplemental information," Naruto said. "I know Kaka-sensei never asked it of us, but Tokuma-sensei does."

"They're not hard, but you do have to use your good writing hand or else they'll make you do it over and over again," Risa said. "Come on we'll show you."

The report was a simple form. There were fields in the report where comments from each of the Genin could be written or else their sensei could add the impressions that the Genin exhibited during a particular mission in those same fields.

"At least it wasn't Tora," Naruto muttered singsong like under his breath.

"That's the next mission," Kakashi-sensei replied in singsong back at them softly and chuckled at their combined groans. He looked to Tokuma-sensei and said, "I think I'm going to enjoy working with Team Seventeen."

Tokuma-sensei grinned right back him and agreed with a nod.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

TBC…

(…i…) "99 Ninjas that Battle and War" – sing to the tune of "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" – completely made up, but it goes like this:

99 Ninjas that battle and war

99 Ninjas that battle

Take a star to mow one down

Now you have, 98 Ninjas that battle and war

98 Ninjas that battle and war

98 Ninjas that battle

Take a star to mow one down

Now you have, 97 Ninjas that battle and war

97 Ninjas that battle and war (get the picture, kinda annoying isn't it, but terribly catchy too!)


	18. Chapter 18

**CH 18**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

There was fifth component to Nen Jutsu and was the one that he'd yet to find information on. It is called, '_In_'. It's usually used in conjunction with Ten. Ten is the power to hold your spirit, aura, chakra, whatever you call it inside. '_In_' are the words of power and is fuelled by activating Ten.

It's like the '_wishful thinking_' that some cultures have under various names like the '_Kotodama_' in Japanese culture. The theory is that stating something with conviction and maybe using some form of spiritual energy or power, make whatever is said or declared to come true. He's already used it a couple times, but only when he told people, '_I will become the Hokage of Konoha_'.

Still in studying the books and scrolls, he hadn't come across much information about '_In_'. But he was still eager to learn the next step, that meant finding his '_Hatsu_' or perhaps it's better known as his hidden power. It takes accumulated study of _In, Ten, Ren, Gyo_, to finally be able to call forth Hatsu.

"Hatsu," Naruto breathed. He used Gyo in his eyes and released his Ren at a glass filled to the brim with water, which had single leaf floating on top. The channelling of the Ren in this way will affect the water and leaf. It is what will determine the path that his Hatsu will take. Once that's figured out, it'll only be a matter of figuring the ratio of subdivisions of the six Nen Jutsu elements or skills.

Hatsu is the technique, which cumulates the sum of the Nen Skills. Hatsu can further be divided into six categories, which are: Emission (projection of aura), Transformation (ability to change the properties of the aura), Reinforcement (gives more physical strength or increases the efficiency of an object), Manipulation (ability to manipulate inert material and living material), Materialization (aura is materialized, solidly) and Specialization (strange aura that doesn't fit in any other category).

The book further explained that Nen abilities are linked to the individual character of a person. Everything has a beginning and in the case of Nen Jutsu the first aptitude is one that is related by the circumstances of a person's birth. The second aptitude or next determining factor is by the path taken during the course of a person's life.

Right now the blond was seeking to learn how the Nen Jutsu or Nen Aura would form from him, when he used his concentration. He knew that it had been Materialization from his past life. This allowed him to mix a couple of elements like using earth or ground materials and his Nen ability in order to make the glass kunai, which he'd been fond of using because they'd been made to specifically shatter inside his enemies.

This time he'd studied the Nen Jutsu from the beginning. He kept his mind on the form of his new life, his personality and the current path he'd taken. The water in the glass slowly started to overflow and it dripped onto the floor. He paused and then on a whim he tasted the water. It tasted kind of sweet too.

'_So I still have the Materialization, but now I have the Reinforcement_,' he thought. '_I believe that I can work with both of these._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

One thing was certain now… Sasuke was more vocal because of Risa, the ninja-dog and the fact that he could spar in with four people that had very different Taijutsu forms. He also had one Kenjutsu equal in the form of the Jinchuriki of Konoha. He was still looking for his mother's notes on the Kenjutsu Style that the old blacksmith had been talking about.

He used his Sharingan whenever the team was released for the day. He even had his blond teammate over from time to time to help him detect traps and to find the secret compartments or storages that his family seemed to have favoured ranging from the youngest to the oldest Sharingan user.

His other teammate had taught him how to make simple bombs. He'd even successfully managed to test most of them by setting some of them off in the Shinobi Barracks with wet dye inside them rather than smoke or fire. His teammates knew that it had been him and they'd already congratulated him on the success of his first official prankster mission because of the evidence from the day they'd been re-assigned as a cell together, becoming Team Seventeen.

"You do know that many think that it was me that pulled that prank," Naruto had told him.

"Not my fault," Sasuke said with his nose in the air.

Risa laughed and so did her dog, in his strange dog-like way. "Well," she'd asked. "What do we do next?"

"Naruto," the black haired boy turned to the blond. "Could you make confinement Seals to prevent destruction of an area?"

"Yes," Naruto replied without hesitation.

Sasuke turned to Risa and asked, "How big of an explosion can you make without destroying underground pipes or plumbing?"

"That'll depend on the purpose," Risa said. "If it's to take down one building there are ways to get it to fall in on itself rather than explode outward. What do you want to do?"

"I've finished exploring some of the outer buildings," Sasuke said. "They need to come down."

Risa's eyes lit up with an inner gleam. "Bombs," she sighed. "Let's go check it out and I'll let you know what you need."

"You should also consider that some of the wood, floors or panelling could be salvageable," Naruto said as he followed them, in a flicker-flit that they'd gotten used to using.

"These four," Sasuke pointed to the buildings.

"Ah, never mind then," Naruto said. The buildings in question were the ones in danger of collapsing anyway and nothing was really salvageable from them.

"I figured that if the explosion occurred in a way to shatter the wood, then maybe the splinters can be buried into the soil to give the soil a new source of nutrient," Sasuke then stopped as his train of thought disappeared. He looked at his teammates and shrugged.

"You know this could be a good opportunity for me to use my wind to call up a dust storm to scour the wood clean of paint," Naruto said. "I could practice using it."

"I could prepare the Earth," Risa had suggested and the pulled out one of the C-Level Earth scrolls. "Mid-size Terraforming, it works in a ten by ten foot square to alter the underlying Earth. It renders it completely healthy and ready for plant growth."

"If Naruto scours the paint with wind, what happens to the paint particles?" Sasuke asked.

"You can burn them," Naruto had said. "That way they don't go anywhere. The explosion can shatter the cleaned wood to be used in terraforming. The pipes can be smelted down with your strongest fire and sold by weight. All windows can also be melted down and reformed into other objects too, if you want to do that or can sold by weight too."

"Doing this together we can help each other improve how we work with our elements," Risa said. "I could use help with Lightning."

"Taijutsu," Sasuke said holding out his hand for the girl to shake on the deal.

The Uchiha had learned of the '_quid pro quo_' rule of that Team Eleven had used years ago. He fell into it by accident, but it was the best thing that had happened to him. Team Seventeen helped him to locate hidden books, journals, scrolls, which helped him to create a family listing. This listing allowed him to remember '_all_' the members of his clan, rather than just his immediate family. It was way better than the bloody mass of bodies that haunted his, less frequently, reoccurring nightmares.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Team Seventeen were passing through the gates coming home from their ninth successful C-Rank Mission. C-Ranks usually consisted of capturing animals, clearing mines, clearing roads from storm debris or aiding small villages with large scale repairs to town buildings or things like their walls or water wells.

This last mission consisted of helping to clear a mine that had had several minor cave-ins. The miners of the area didn't know the cause of those cave-ins and had requested aid in clearing the boulders, but also in trying to figure out the cause. The team continued their personal training and had practiced most of the E and D Level elemental spells that were actually useful to the miners.

It was Sasuke that had discovered the reason for the minor cave-ins when he fell through the floor of the cavern they'd just cleared. The mine that the men were working in had natural underground caverns that were tunneled by water throughout the years. The Uchiha had caught a cold from falling into a cold pool of water. At least the pool had been deep enough and the cavern had several unformed precious stones that the team had been able to take away with them with permission from the men working in the mine.

After that Naruto had learnt a D-Level Water spell to douse for underground water pathways, while Risa mapped the areas following him. She used a D-Level Earth density spell to note the thickness of miners' tunnelled floors.

Both Jounin-senseis were impressed with the way the three had meshed quickly and efficiently, as a team. They were careful in their reports to ensure the team could be underestimated, but not by much if this was their ninth C-Rank mission in the shortened timeframe that they'd been officially named Team Seventeen.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

On one of the last nights of the latest C-Rank mission, the Jounin were having a discussion about the team and if they should be nominated for any upcoming Chunin exam or wait until the following one.

"They train on their own a lot," Tokuma-sensei noted.

"Not always on their own," Kakashi-sensei said. "I do give them scrolls to study with."

"But you're not doing anything with them," Tokuma replied. "We're going to need to schedule independent training for all three in their areas of specialization."

"What would those areas be," Kakashi asked. "Their current levels are about mid-Chunin. Classroom instruction does not seem to suit Naruto or Sasuke."

"I'll admit that Risa is the same as the boys," Tokuma said. "When I had first introduced them to report writing, it was the girls that had a problem with it. Naruto's writing was impeccable and I can only attribute that to his interest in being a Seal Master one day."

"So the Chunin exams," Kakashi-sensei said. "I think that they may be coming up soon, what do you think their chances are?"

"I think that they'll pass the first two phases with little difficulty," Tokuma said. "In the third phase they'll have that one month to do supplemental training."

"I was thinking of taking Sasuke and Naruto to Zabuza for that," Kakashi said. "I don't want the girl to feel left out, but I know that they'll be pushed further and faster by him. They need to work on their Kenjutsu more."

"Hm," Tokuma said. "Who would be a good trainer for Risa and her pup?"

At this time Naruto walked up to them and collapsed near the two senseis, "Training in what?"

"In working together and giving them the time that they've been missing because Akoba is still very young," Tokuma explained. "They're growing by leaps and bounds, but in comparison to the other Inuzuka..."

"So don't compare her to them," Naruto snorted.

"It's not that," Tokuma-sensei said. "Clans that are linked with creatures or have bonds like the Inuzuka... well they actually need time to forge stronger bonds between the animal and the human, away from the influence of other humans and animals."

Sasuke joined them from the room he'd been staying in to recover from his cold. He said, "Dobe, you ever notice the time that Kiba was away from the Academy for about six months and when he came back he had that mutt of his?"

"Risa hasn't had enough time with Akoba," Naruto said. "Is that what you mean?"

"We're doing fine," Risa said, not wanting to trouble her teammates with this minor problem. The bond she had was strong, but there was still that missing bonding time.

"Risa," Naruto looked at her seriously and said, "Problems for one member in the team..."

"... can cause problems for all," she finished with a sigh. "I just didn't want to bother you guys because it will resolve itself soon."

"Pah," Naruto said and then he bit his thumb, did the summoning hand signs and placed his palm to the ground calling for one of his foxes. "Nami, we need consultation."

A red fox appeared with the same three little ones she'd had when they met about a month ago in the Land of Waves. "Yes, Naruto," the mother fox said settling down in front of him and dropping a kit in his lap. "How can I help?"

"Risa..." Naruto looked to the girl and said. "You explain."

"My clan is different in that we form bonds with ninja-dogs," the girl said. "This is my bond-mate, Akoba. Due to an accident I'd been disabled for a short time and in that time I was able to bond with him. However I'm also a Kunoichi, training in many of the same things that Naruto and Sasuke do. I couldn't take the time needed to strengthen our bond, which is usually done in supervised seclusion."

"I see," the mother said. "How long does the seclusion usually last?"

"Anywhere from three to six months," Risa replied truthfully.

"How long have you been bonded," Nami asked.

"About three months," Risa answered.

"Watch my kits," the mother said as she popped away to consult with '_Uncle Whitey_'. The three kits were curious bundles, but they were able to converse with Akoba and get a greater understanding of the bond.

Kita popped out of Naruto's stomach much to the surprise of one of their teachers and Risa, who didn't know about this development. "Kita," Naruto said grabbing the small fox and hold him up nose-to-nose with him. "You know you're not..."

"But Papa, Nami's kits are out and I wanna play," Kita said with a cute pouty tone.

"Yeah, but now I have to explain who you are," Naruto said, giving Kita to Sasuke far away from Kakashi-sensei's surprising kunai or from Tokuma-sensei's Byakugan vision. "Sasuke, take them all to your room."

The black haired boy held onto Kita and picked up one of Nami's kits, ushering the rest with gentle pushes of his feet and with Akoba's aid. "Come on you guys," Sasuke said. "I have balls in my room that you can chase."

"Naruto," Kakashi-sensei said in a tone that indicated irritation.

"Ah, um..., don't you remember the kit?" Naruto asked Kakashi and then looked to Tokuma-sensei and said, "So maybe I didn't do really kill it." He rubbed the back of his head with a sigh.

"Naruto," Kakashi barked out startling the girl and the other Jounin with the tone that he used. The blond Genin only turned to look at the man that had once been taught by the Yondaime, Naruto's father.

"Yes sensei," the boy replied.

"Is that what I think it is," Kakashi's voice took on a dangerous tone, because back in the Land of Waves, the kit had been so much smaller than this one.

"That'll depend on what you actually think it is," Naruto growled out. "If you think it's a demon fox, you could be correct."

Kakashi stood up and zipped to the doorway of the room that Sasuke had been staying in while his cold was being treated. The blond moved faster and had his sword out to prevent the man from killing the innocent fox kit. "However, if you think it's Kurama, then you'd be wrong. I'll not let you kill him."

Kakashi blinked at the fact that the sword was pressing against him. His student was preventing him from...then the words filtered in. "He's not... but he's so much bigger than the tiny thing from the Wave Country"

"No, it's not the nine-tails," Naruto said, but he never relaxed his stance until his sensei returned to where he'd been sitting. Then he'd only put his sword away and remained standing guard at the door. "He grew up some when the summoning scroll was finally activated."

"So what is he," Risa asked gently, knowing that this was a very sensitive subject for her younger friend.

"He's a young summon," Naruto said. "He was leashed in that pot with a chakra draining collar that about killed him. He's the reason I made the summoning scroll to begin with."

"What summoning scroll," Tokuma asked.

Nami popped back into the room and said, "The FOX summoning scroll, of course." She sat down and stared at the men. "A contract scroll only needs one creature to begin with, before more are added. I believe the boy was told how the first summon scroll was made. Do you wish to know?"

Risa asked because she knew that her senseis were still thinking about the little fox. "How was the first one made?"

"I don't know the creature, but I do know that it was one of the offspring of a Biju," Nami said. "The Biju were released in the world ages ago and had mingled peacefully for many years with others of their same nature, meaning fox with foxes, cat with cats, etc..."

"The offspring of Biju and regular animals often resulted in stronger, smarter creatures that humans were often afraid of," she told them. "A long time ago, an unscrupulous human who was a master of Sealing Techniques and one of the first creators of Written Jutsus, created a holding scroll. It was specifically made to bind a Biju Child or one of the stronger offspring. The scroll was actually a prison for that child. However, whenever the human called it up in order to use its strength, there was a terrible price in blood that had to be paid."

"That's awful," Risa said with a shudder.

Nami nodded her russet head and said, "There are many similar tales, but eventually some summon scrolls were decisions agreed upon by kinder humans and more understanding creatures. Biju children needed the time to grow up just as much as the original Biju did. I do know that the scrolls with the more difficult summons are the ones that are older."

Kakashi was still wary of the blond Jinchuriki with good reason. This was classified information that shouldn't have been divulged.

"Kakashi," Naruto said without using any honourific or title. "They already know. The Hokage has already given me permission to tell who I want to tell. My teammates had a right to know about the Kyuubi no Yoko within me."

"How long have you known," Kakashi-sensei asked. "I wasn't told that you knew about being the container for the nine-tailed fox."

"It really didn't take much to put two and two together, when the common civilians chased me as a mob and called me the demon fox," Naruto said with a huff. "It was after Mizuki attempted to rob the Hokage's office that Jiji-sama told me that I could tell whomever I trusted."

"Mizuki what," Tokuma-sensei asked.

"The twerp tried to steal the Scroll of Sealing," Kakashi-sensei told the other Jounin. "He is still in custody and will be for a long while because it was discovered that he's actually a traitor to Konoha and has been working for Otogakure."

"Oh," Tokuma-sensei said. "So that's why Umino Iruka has been put in charge of the Academy and is overhauling then entire ninja education system."

"He's cool for a sensei," Naruto commented.

"So the reason you didn't tell me," Kakashi-sensei prodded.

"Frankly, it just never came up," Naruto said. "Everyone here knew because it came up in natural conversations. We've never talked about anything related to the fox or the Yondaime, so there was nothing to tell you."

Kakashi knew that he was going to think about this at a later date, but he did have to ask, "But your Seal…"

"It's fine," Naruto said. "Did you want to see it?"

"He can do that later," Nami said. "The solution to your dilemma young lady is Uncle Whitey." The female fox gave the blond Genin a pointed looked and then went into the room to gather her children. But before she left, she said. "You'll have to call on him sometime kit."

"Argh," Naruto huffed.

"Who's Uncle Whitey," Kakashi asked.

"He's the first fox in the FOX summon scroll," Sasuke said walking back into the room with a sleeping Kita and Akoba in his arms. "He's a winter fox with two-tails and he found us when we were training with Zabuza." He handed the dog to his bond mate and continued to hold on to the sleeping fox for a bit longer. He did sit next to Naruto so that everyone could that the blond was feeding chakra to the fox kit.

Risa had a small smile on her face and then looking closer, she noted the chakra drain. She grinned a little wider and had to ask, "Is that why he called you Papa?"

Naruto shrugged and grinned sheepishly. Everyone chuckled which woke up Kita who stood up. "Kita stand proud a moment," he said. "Look at his size and height," the kit looked at him after they had and then faded back into the blond's body after receiving the okay to go. "He was the size of my longest finger when he was released from the pot that we'd taken from Suna. He was dying too."

He held out his hand to show how truly tiny the kit had been.

"But surely," Tokuma-sensei began and then stopped. He sighed and continued, "That Palace had been buried for about seven hundred years. One of the Suna Chunin told us about it, while we were waiting for word about any team that was in there. It had been periodically excavated, but they'd never opened or found all the rooms because they claimed that the walls shifted."

"Oh yeah," Risa said with huff. "We know about that. We couldn't leave the room we'd found those pots in because our way was blocked after the walls had shifted yet again."

"At least we figured out that there was a pattern to the shift," Naruto said.

"You did?" Tokuma asked. "From what I heard from the others, there was no way to tell."

"Well, that just means that you needed Team Eleven," Naruto said with pride. "I bet Team Seventeen would have figured it out too, since Sasuke has the Sharingan." He looked at the other boy, who just looked back and blinked with the dark blue eyes that he'd taken to using to hide his Kekkei Genkai, whenever they left the village.

"All right enough of this," Kakashi-sensei said. "Go do your training routines and get ready for bed after that. We leave in three days and the day after tomorrow is the day that you've been given approval by the miners to hunt for more precious stones which you are permitted to keep one out of every five you dig up. They've even agreed to allow you to use what low-level spells you think will help you to dig them out."

The three Genin took off and then he turned to the Hyuga and said, "Tell me what you can about him and the fox. Anything he's told..."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The Chunin guards watched an exhausted Team Seventeen plod through the gates from their ninth C-Rank mission in less than a month. Their senseis marched them to the mission office in order to turn in their report and then dismissed for them next two days.

"Meet at the regular place and time Thursday," Tokuma-sensei said and he had a nod from Kakashi agreeing to the small break.

"Thank you senseis," they said and went their separate ways.

Kakashi didn't even wait one day before tracking down Naruto with one of his nin-dogs. "Why do you want to see the boy," Pakkun asked. "Give him a break."

"I have question that only he can answer," the man said. An hour later the dog found Naruto climbing up to his favourite plateau. The blond had thought he'd be alone for at least twenty-fours this time.

'_Maybe I have to find another place to train on my own,_' Naruto thought, as he crested the ledge and came nose-to-nose with the pug dog.

"Pakkun, what are you doing here?"

"Kakashi wanted to speak with you," the dog said.

"Then Kakashi will have to come here," Naruto said. An hour after that, his run was interrupted by his grey haired sensei, when he felt the man's chakra nearby. He turned back, noted that the man was reading his book by the smoking fire that was slow cooking several of the fish that the blond had caught earlier. "Are you staying long?"

Kakashi looked up and noted that the boy was only wearing his ninja sandals, shorts and what looked like weights on his wrists, elbows, ankles and knees. "I just wanted to see the Seal," the man said. "I was worried."

Naruto tilted his head and then approached. He stood there for the man to look at the faded Seal. The Jounin then wondered what it would look like if the boy drew on the fox's chakra. The boy sighed and then asked, "Do you want me to do it?"

"What," Kakashi said.

"Do you want me to draw on the chakra belonging to the nine-tailed fox," Naruto asked again.

"How did…"

"You have a look," the blond said. "Besides you're not doing this to be malicious or anything. I believe that you're genuinely curious to see what would happen. I'd never do this if anyone else asked me to."

"Why not," Kakashi asked. "Not even if Sasuke asked."

"I don't know about that," Naruto said. "That would have to depend on when and why he's asking."

"The others," the Jounin questioned and then confirmed. "Not the others."

"No one else," Naruto told him. "They don't really have a connection to the history of the nine-tails like you do because you were the Yondaime's student and he knew to trust you."

Kakashi had to look away at that. He'd never been able to bring that poor child into his home because he'd just been a child himself when that horrible event occurred. Those sky blue eyes were just too direct and honest.

"My father understands," Naruto said, earning him the rare privilege of a whiplash look around by his Jounin sensei. Something he'd never seen before. That man may wear a mask, but his body gives away a lot if you know what you're looking for. "I told you, Jiji-sama has talked to me. Not just about the fox, but a bit about my parents' lives too."

"I'm sorry," Kakashi said looking down. A tear he couldn't prevent, fell. "I couldn't…I wanted to…but I… just couldn't…"

Naruto leaned forward and allowed the man to bury his face in his stomach and on the last Sealing Technique that the man's beloved sensei had done in his life, all for the good of the village. The blond boy petted the white-grey hair of his troubled and obviously lonely sensei.

They stayed like that until the man pulled away and the boy moved to rescue his supper. He handed one of the fish on a stick to his teacher and they ate them in companionable silence.

"Neh Naruto," Kakashi-sensei said and paused until he knew he had the boy's attention. "Am I ever going to get my sensei's last testing bell?"

Naruto looked at him incredulously and then laughed.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

TBC… 


	19. Chapter 19

**CH 19**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Team Seventeen were standing before the last of the decrepit buildings in the Uchiha compound.

"Ready," Naruto said, because his spell was the first that needed to be activated. He received nods from his other two teammates and then he called out, "Wind Style: Scouring Dust Ball".

Sasuke snorted, he couldn't help it because the name of the spell sounded funny to him. He reacted the same way every time, much to the amusement of his teammates. This was the final building and they'd finally gotten the method down to do this by the time they got to the third old building.

The '_Dust Ball_' moved through the rooms, removing all interior paint and varnish before doing the entire outside of the building. The '_ball_' grew in size and was moved to the centre of the compound where Sasuke was ready to use his, "Fire Style: Camp Flames," spell. Any other Fire spell was just plain overkill and unneeded in this case.

Kakashi-sensei had taken to watching them the third time that they did this, after some concerned citizen had reported to the Hokage that they thought the Uchiha Compound was burning down. He was fascinated at the way they decided to tear down the older hazardous buildings using their Elemental Jutsus.

Tokuma-sensei was with him this time around because the Copy-Nin felt that his fellow Jounin teacher would be interested in the results of what their students were currently doing.

They watched as Naruto slapped Fujin tags on all corners on every side on the outside of the house and then motioned for the other two, to do what they seemed to love doing. They ran into the rooms of the house and planted several charges in corners and at every bearing wall according to the house's blue prints. The two came out and Naruto did a final walkthrough using his strange Gyo technique that his two teammates had finally learned about.

"It's not an ocular Jutsu," Naruto had told them. "It's really something else because I use nearly all of my senses at the same time. It's just another sense to me." He showed them by activating it and finding a compartment missed by Sasuke's active Sharingan eye technique. "I could sorta see by smelling it, if that makes any sense."

Risa had then checked the room and located a couple other hidden cubbies by her sense of smell alone and they were the same that Naruto had found, but that Sasuke couldn't see. Because of that they'd agreed that Naruto had to do the final walkthrough before any building came down just in case the other two had missed something.

Naruto had found two scrolls in the first building, a book in the second and in the third building he'd found Sasuke's mom's journal of her '_new_' Kenjutsu Style. For that alone the black haired boy was willing to forgive him his strange abilities, because at least it was nothing like the Sharingan anyway.

The blond boy came out of this house carrying five fairly large scrolls and said, "There are more in there."

Sasuke and Risa looked at the scrolls, separated them and then put them away in storage scrolls. Sasuke then asked, "How much more?"

"You have to come and see this," Naruto said with worried eyes. "I don't know if it was part of the house or not, but you have to come and our senseis should to be here too, maybe they can explain."

Sasuke turned to look in the direction of their Jounin-senseis and called them down with signs, (…Hey, you slackers, we need your advice so come down and help your Genins…)

The two men looked at one another because they thought that they'd been well concealed. They shrugged and then jumped down from their supposedly hidden location.

"You summoned us o' last of the venerable Uchiha Clan," Kakashi-sensei said with a slight tease.

"Yeah," Sasuke said. "We're going to follow Naruto. He recommended that you be there to witness or observe what it is he's found."

Risa had just come out with another bundle of scrolls. "You do need to go down there," she said. "I defused all our explosives, since I don't want anything to happen while you're in there."

Sasuke went into the house and then immediately saw the set of stairs leading down from the main room. "Naruto," he called out, as he came down the stairs. "Yo, Blondie are you all ri… Whoah!"

"I'm fine," Naruto said. "Oh good, Tokuma-sensei you're here, maybe you can tell us if this is normal for a Clan Family? I mean I can understand that many with an active Sharingan would love to learn to hide stuff, which explains the multiple cubbies we found in nearly every building, but this is overkill isn't it?"

"Not really," Tokuma said looking over some of the scrolls. He looked closer and noted that some had the name Uzumaki on them. "Is this possible?"

"There were plenty of intermarriages before and after Konoha was founded," Sasuke stated. "But these all look like they were made before the Founding Time. What I'm a going to do with all of them?"

"Move them out of this house," Kakashi-sensei said. "You have to do that because this building can no longer hold these items. It's not secure."

"Here Teme," Naruto said handing him two large storage scrolls. "Put the ones that you think have value in them and once rolled secure the scroll with a drop of your blood, that way it will only open for you."

"What are you going to do," Sasuke asked, as he began to store some of the older more delicate scrolls, papers and books into one of the large storage scrolls he'd been given.

"I'll start with what looks to be more recent in this corner," Naruto said. "Tokuma-sensei and Kakashi-sensei could you two look around with your limits to see if we missed anything?"

Less than an hour the hidden room had been cleared and neither of the senseis had detected any other hidden area or found any trap in the room. Risa was periodically skimming through some of the scrolls and so were her teachers that had joined her.

"Found it," Tokuma-sensei said. "It's old script, but it dates to the founding of Konoha. It says here that this was part of the library belonging to the Land of Whirling Tides before the war that destroyed their Shinobi village. The library belonged to the Shodaime's wife's family, who were Uzumaki. As you know the Shodaime was also related to the Uchihas. That building must have been their house before a new '_main house_' was built."

"My grandmother had always said that our history was on this property, but for some reason no one had ever found it," Sasuke told them. "She was deemed to be completely senile by the other members of the house because she'd could always be heard saying that '_It takes an Uzumaki to find it_', repeatedly." He shrugged at the looks he was getting, "She was always muttering stuff like that, but no one ever paid any attention to it because it was always followed by '_Never trust a recurring blemish_'." (…i…)

"Curious that it was an Uzumaki that found it, though," Kakashi-sensei pointed out. "Maybe the other thing she said has a meaning that you've yet to figure out?"

"True," Sasuke said. He looked to the blond boy that seemed to be absorbed in reading something. "Naruto?"

"Hm," the boy looked up and smiled. "I never knew that there was this much history on the Uzumaki Family. I hope you'll let me read more of it."

"Of course," Sasuke said. "If you'll help me to preserve it and store it safely until we can read what they contain."

"You got it," Naruto said. "Maybe one of your sturdier buildings can be converted into a secure library."

"I'll have to think about it," Sasuke said. "Could we put these away and take care of that building now? I don't really want to leave it standing."

"No problem," Naruto said and everyone packed all of the scrolls, papers or books that they'd been reading.

They headed out of the main house and then continued the task that they'd wanted to accomplish that day. Their senseis decided to stick around and watch from the roof of a nearby building rather than further away and up in a tree. The explosives had been recharged and then from the distance they saw the building literally shatter into billions of splinters, which were pulled away by a breeze that Naruto controlled.

The glass from the windows were heavier and fell to the ground with a crash. The foundation of the building was destroyed by one punch that Risa did with a chakra filled brass knuckle. It had been specially created to channel the powerful Earth chakra. Doing this loosened the soil and the boys then used their combined strength with the help from Risa's, "Earth Style: Earth Lift", a D to C Level spell, to lift a specific size of land. They pulled the metal piping away from the area that Risa would be Terraforming.

Naruto then guided the wooden splinters back into the pit, where the foundation had been and then let them fall into the hole. He then moved the piping to the centre of the compound and at Sasuke's ready signal his used his strongest Wind severing technique: "Wind Style: Vulcan Blades", in conjunction with the Uchiha's, "Fire Style: Grand Fireball."

The Vulcan Blades spell was a B Level wind spell that could be augmented by any Fire spell to quadruple the effectiveness. It forms three to seven blades made of heated wind, the kind likely found around volcanoes, and can be used to cut any metal. Used with something like the '_Grand Fireball_' and the heat intensifies enough to smelt the metal. Cutting the pipes and smelting them at the same time renders the slag into manageable lumps ready for sale once they've been cooled down.

Risa was watching this part because there was something interesting about the process. Sure all of the Elemental Jutsus could be used in battle as offensive or defensive techniques. But really to only be able to use them in a do or die situation, doesn't allow for much practice. Using it this way was really part of their practice. The other reason she was watching at the moment was to rest before performing the last spell in the area.

"Are you going to hose it down like you did the last time," Risa asked.

"Only after you do your bit," Naruto said. "I have a new water spell I'd like to try out. Oi, Teme you don't have any laundry out on the line today do you?"

"No," Sasuke returned. "Why do you ask?"

"You'll see," Naruto said eagerly. He really wanted to try this new Water spell. "Are you good to go Risa? Should we take a break?"

Risa checked her chakra levels and then checked the area that she was planning to terraform. "I'm good to go," she said. "Sasuke do you have those seeds ready?"

"Yes," he said readying the fruit tree seeds that he was going to toss in the soil at her signal. "They're mixed fruit trees that a farmer told me would grow well together in a grove type environment."

"I'm going to double the area," she told them. "So keep an eye on it." The boys nodded and then she called out, "Earth Style: Terraforming Orchard Twenty-Twenty".

The Earth spell made the ground rumble and shift. It felt like the earth was being freshly turned and more was added. The wooden splinters were ground into it and changed into nutrients that the soil needed to become fertile once more for the purpose of growing plant life. It was about to settle completely, but Risa shouted, "NOW."

Sasuke tossed the seeds in semi-formal rows and ensured that like was planted near like or that some were planted near the ones that could share space without overcrowding. He called out, "DONE."

Naruto stepped up and said, "Water Style: Sun Shower." A patch of sun shone down on them and a large area of the Compound, plus couple hundred metres around it. Rain fell thickly and quick in the full sun patch. It was over in, under five minutes, but everything that was under that '_Sun Shower_' spell was completely drenched.

"Um," Naruto said as his waterlogged teammates and senseis, as they looked at him surprised. "Oops?"

Akoba grumbled, trotted over to the blond Jinchuriki and the proceeded to shake himself dry, splashing the boy with water.

"At least he's not a big dog yet," Naruto said with a sheepish grin. "Sorry guys."

"You've never practiced that one before did you," Risa asked, tugging the water out of her hair.

"Well, it never came out like this," Naruto told her, doing the same with his own blond locks. "I'm going to need to get my hair cut again." He pushed them out of his face.

Sasuke, just brushed his dripping bangs away from his eyes and said, "You called it forth thinking that it needed to cover the area of the compound in order to hit the slag as well as the part that Risa was working on, didn't you?"

"Yes," Naruto said. "Why do you ask?"

"Baka, you decided to make it bigger and that controlled it," Sasuke said, shaking his head, like the dog had done to remove the water. Then he went to the area to watch the small seeds that he'd planted in the newly turned soil grow under the sun and the large drenching of water that had come down. "At least it was a good thing that you did it, because it looks like the plants are going to do well in this corner."

"Oh wow," Risa said. She placed a hand on the soil and felt the Earth and the nutrients. The plants were going to be fine and it seemed that they might need another drenching soon. "Naruto can you do that spell again. Only this time, in this area and maybe for two minutes, wait ten minutes and then do it again for another three minutes."

"Sure," Naruto said. "I'd stand back if you don't want to get drenched again." Everyone stood away from the growing orchard and the blond called out, "Water Style: Sun Shower," this time he reduced the area in his mind and rain time.

It was interesting to see the plants growing with advance speed. However that was terraforming at it's best. The plants grew through one cycle together up to the point they should be in the current season's cycle. Most of the trees and bushes that grew would bear fruit in a few days time and until the end Autumn. Another 'Sun Shower' and then the trees were flourishing.

"Oh wow," Risa said. "You have lemon and lime bushes, four oranges trees, three persimmon trees and five apple trees. That is a great combination for this region." (…ii…)

"Oh man," Naruto said. "You lucky dog. I can just taste braised lemon fish and herbed greens…mmm or maybe pork steak in persimmon sauce with a side of plain rice…mmm…" He quickly checked to make sure that he wasn't drooling and didn't notice that his teammates and senseis were nearly in that state too just by the description of the foods he'd been describing.

Overhead of the compound a hawk flew by calling out to the Jounin teachers to assemble before the Hokage. Kakashi and Tokuma looked at one another and nodded. Their students were ready. Kakashi used the flicker technique and left to go to the meeting, while leaving his counterpart to give their team at least a day off.

"All right guys," Tokuma-sensei said. "We're giving you the day off tomorrow. We'll meet the day after at the regular time and place, understood."

"Yes Tokuma-sensei," they all said. The Hyuga then used the Shunsin technique to flicker away and get to the meeting with the other senseis and thought. '_At least this technique allows us to get dry before we show up in front of the other Jounin and Chunin._'

Sasuke and Risa turned to face their teammate. Naruto looked back at them, backing away slightly and said, "What…what'd I do?"

"You're going to make that lemon fish for us," Sasuke said. "You can use my kitchen!"

"Payback for drenching us," Risa said and Akoba barked in agreement.

"What!" Naruto exclaimed. "Why do I have to cook?"

"You mentioned the food," Sasuke said.

"That's right," Risa agreed. "It sounded really good too."

Naruto sighed and said, "Fine, but you both have to go to the market for any missing ingredients. Let's see what you have in your kitchen."

"Neh, Naruto," Risa said, as they were heading into the main house. "Did you notice?"

"Yep," the blond said. "The Chunin exams are about to take place."

"What," Sasuke said.

"That hawk was a summons for Jounin with Genin teams to assemble," Risa said. "We'll find out soon if we're nominated or not."

"I think we will be, but that also means that the exams are taking place here," Naruto said, as he looked in a cupboard and pulled out a few spice containers. "Remember when it was time to go to Suna the Hawk came a full month before December 1st and Chunin exams are done every six months, so the next one has to be taking place July1st."

"That's only days away, so it will be happening in Konoha," Sasuke said. "No travel to plan ahead for."

"That's right," Naruto said. "Do you want that bound Henge placed on you today?"

"Can you?" Sasuke asked.

"Sure," Naruto said. "I have extra papers with me. I just have to write the Fujin Sigils on them. I don't know if I ever told you this before, but once you have a bound Henge or Seal like this one placed on you, you can't have another, right?"

"Yes," Sasuke told him. "You told me this when we traveled to Wave Country because you'd built in a protection against Cursing Seals. I don't mind. I think that I'd rather have that extra level of protection, especially against some Cursed Seal. I've read about those." The black haired boy shuddered at the thought.

"I want one too," Risa said.

"What," Naruto asked.

"I'd like that kind of protection too," the girl said. "We don't know what the Genin that are coming here are capable of. If we go on the assumption that they can place Cursed Seals on us and you already have something that can protect us, I want it. For me and for Akoba."

"I'm going to have to review my books for that," Naruto said. "The one placed on Sasuke is specifically linked to his Sharingan with an automated protection against Cursed Seals written in it."

"Do you mean that you've been traveling unprotected," Sasuke said.

"Not really," Naruto said, patting his stomach. "I may not have actively called on him, but I do know that together we live. If I die, he dies and he won't let that happen. Besides when I use the bound Henge for myself, as I'm only hiding a surface image, yours actually hides a DNA imbedded biological function."

"Oh," Sasuke said.

"Let me study it for you Risa," Naruto said. "I should have something in a couple of days, since July 1st is only seven days away. I'll put one on you today, Sasuke, and have it last for three months, only this time without changing the colour of your eyes."

"Yeah, too many people would freak out, if they saw with the blue eyes you like to travel with," Risa pointed out. "That's because they know you and changing your eye colour in town is a big fat flag that says you're hiding something."

Sasuke nodded and then said, "Do that after you make that list for tomorrow's lunch, Dobe."

"Hai, hai," Naruto said with a grin (yes, yes). He was still hunting through the cupboards and the refrigerator for ingredients.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

In the Hokage's main audience chamber, there was a gathering of all Jounin that were in charge of a team or cell of Genin. (…iii…) The old man was seated at the end of a long room and then he said, "You may well guess as to why you've been summoned and what we're here to discuss."

"Is it that time already," Kakashi asked in his normal unaffected tone. His co-teacher had finally arrived in time to hear the rest of the announcement.

Another Jounin stated or asked, "Have you informed the Lords of the other lands yet? Because I believe I've already seen a few of them in our village."

"When is it to be," asked another Jounin.

"One week from today," the Hokage replied with an exhaled breath of smoke from his pipe.

"Isn't this rather sudden," an Academy teacher asked.

The old man removed his pipe from his mouth with another exhale of smoke and said, "To make it completely official, I hereby announce that seven days from today on July 1st, we shall be conducting the examinations for the ninja journeyman rank of Chunin."

The Jounin and Chunin in the room began to whisper amongst themselves for a few moments.

"Now then let's hear from the three, pardon, four Jounin that have been overseeing the training of our newest batch of young ninja," the Hokage said. "Tokuma, Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai, please step forward."

The four Jounin approached and lined up, waiting further instructions and explanations from their leader. "Do any of you have, among your charges, any Genin that you'd recommend for this year's Chunin Journeyman exams?"

He paused dramatically and looked at each of the instructors, explaining, "Before we consider them they must have completed a minimum of eight missions, beyond that employ your own judgment, as to whether they are ready to aspire to the next level. To be totally honest, the competing candidates should have done a least double the recommended number of missions."

Iruka was listening to this and his concern was visible as he thought, '_He shouldn't be asking this yet…It's too soon for __**any**__ of them._'

"Team Seventeen," Kakashi stood forward with Tokuma next to him. "Comprised of Genin Uzumaki Naruto, Genin Inuzuka Risa and Genin Uchiha Sasuke and I, Hatake Kakashi…" Kakashi said.

"…and, I, Hyuga Tokuma," Tokuma continued. "Recommend these three for the Chunin Exam."

Kurenai stepped forward and said, "Group Eight, consisting of Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. These three, I, Yuuhi Kurenai recommend the same."

Asuma stepped forward and said, "Cell Ten, consisting of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji. These three, I, Sarutobi Asuma recommend the same."

Whispers among the ranks got louder. "All three recommended."

"To think rookies will be in the Chunin Exam this year."

"Hasn't it been five years since that last happened?"

Umino Iruka, Special Chunin stepped forward and protested their nominations, "Wait please. Admittedly they were all students with ability, but it's too soon! They should be tested only after having gained more experience."

Kakashi sighed and turned around, saying, "I became Chunin when I was six years younger than Naruto is now."

"Naruto is different from you!" Iruka continued his protest. "Is it your intent to crush Naruto?"

Tokuma stepped forward and said, "Naruto is more than ready for these exams. Why are you intent on holding him back? He's done four times as many missions, than Kakashi had done before he became Chunin. You never protested his participation for the Winter Chunin exams that occurred in Suna, why do so now?"

Iruka stepped back with a muttered, "I didn't know he'd gone."

Kakashi explained his point of view, "I understand what you want to say and your concerns may be valid. It's aggravating I know, but…"

"Kakashi don't do it," Kurenai requested softly.

The grey haired man ignored his fellow teacher and continued talking to Iruka. "Respectfully, stay out of this," he said. "They're not your students anymore. They're soldiers under my command and I stand by my recommendation."

Asuma only thought, '_What a bunch of troublesome people._'

Kakashi turned back to the Hokage and waited for the recommendation approved form to be signed and stamped officially. Then he picked three for his Genins and then left the room. Tokuma only shrugged at the others and followed his co-sensei.

"When did you tell them that we'd meet," Kakashi asked.

"Day after tomorrow," Tokuma said. "Why?"

"I wonder where they'll be tomorrow," Kakashi speculated.

"Naruto's cooking at Sasuke's," Tokuma said. "Some thing about the lemon braised fish that the boy had mentioned."

"Payback?"

"For drenching them," Tokuma said. "The others will be shopping in the market for the ingredients or so I might have overheard."

"Hm," Kakashi smiled behind his mask. "Care for stroll through the market tomorrow, my colleague?"

"Does it include an ending with a meal of lemon braised fish?"

"Of course," the grey haired man grinned and the Hyuga laughed.

In a single room apartment and blond haired Genin sneezed at the same time as his teammates who lived in different sections of town.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

TBC…

(…i…) Blemish or Spot – meaning for the name… "**Madara**". Or maybe the old woman just read too much Shakespeare, "Out damned spot…" (hee, hee)

(…ii…) Fruit combination – just because I wanted them there, that's all. Not meant to reflect reality.

(…iii…) Warning – most conversation may be taken from vol. 4 of manga or from animé, depending which one sounds better.


	20. Chapter 20

**CH 20**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The next day saw Naruto getting up to do his normal, unaccompanied training routine. He did only three laps around the village because he'd gotten up just a little later than normal. He'd been studying one of the Water scrolls, a B Level spell that altered the water density by the castor's will. He already had a few of those as D Level spells because they were limited in size and liquid specific, for example: Water Style: Grape Juice by Three, which produced a water based juice, flavour specific in a three foot diameter sphere or three foot squared cube. He also had them in orange juice, chlorinated water, water paint, and cherry juice.

The B Level spell will allow him to choose the density, which he suspected was how Zabuza's water prison worked. However if this one worked, it could change the water to act like thick mud, which afterwards could further manipulated by the lower level spells that he knew could be used to form the water to be used like hands, ropes, and even form it into throwing weapons that may seem harmless, but worked close enough to the real thing and could cause severe damage.

Another reason he only did three laps around the village was because he needed to pick a few wild herbs to add to the meal that he was being made to cook for his teammates. He knew that he didn't have to, but it was kind of fun to show off that particular skill. Also he knew that if his senseis found out about it they'd invite themselves for the very same reason that his teammates were expecting him to cook. He had drenched them all yesterday with an untried spell.

"Ooh, berries," he said as he spotted them and immediately picked a couple of small bushels to bring back with him. He placed them in his lightly chilled scroll in order for them, plus the herbs he'd gathered, to keep their freshness.

He returned in time to shower. He changed, prepared Risa's bound Henge to protect against Cursed Seals and then headed to Sasuke's compound. A good thing he'd gotten there slightly early because he caught the Uchiha in time to say, "Test the bound Henge."

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, "Well, is it working?"

Naruto sighed and nodded, "I was worried because every time I did it was to also change your eyes to dark blue, but your eyes are still black and nothing can be seen." He took out some money and gave it to the other boy saying, "You'd better buy extras, in case you encounter our senseis."

"You think that they'd…" Sasuke began to ask and then said, "Of course they would. It's your own fault you know."

"I know, it's because I drenched you," the blond replied.

"Not only that, it was the way you talked about the food made it sound too good," Sasuke said. "I'm meeting Risa at the market. Do what you need to do and feel free to harvest from the new orchard. Ja!"

"Ja," Naruto said and went into the kitchen. He noted that the other boy had taken out some dishes, but they'd need more, so he hunted for those and found them. Then he set the table to include their Jounin-sensei and a place for the dog too.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The three from Team Seventeen were looking at the official Chunin recommendation forms with glee. Their senseis had joined them for the meal, as predicted. Then they left the kids after handing them the official invitation to the exams. All three felt that they were ready for this.

"This time we're passing phase one and two," Risa said. "I'll not hold you back."

"We won't hold you back either," Naruto told her with a grin. "Speaking of which, I did have a long conversation with Uncle Whitey, who said that you can pick your hour and go visit him. However I will warn you that you need to be packed with the basics for camping because your bonding time may last longer than just the minimum six months."

"That's not really fair Naruto," Sasuke said. "You said you were gone for a year, but didn't you learn anything in there."

"I learned some spells unique to foxes," Naruto confessed. "Uncle Whitey being a snow fox knew a lot of snow based spells. I also learned that I don't really like the cold, but if I ever lose my coat or clothes I won't ever freeze to death. That was not a fun lesson."

"But Naruto what do you mean," Risa said.

"Uncle Whitey will take you to the training field in the place of summons," Naruto explained. "Time runs differently there, he'll be your supervisor or watcher and allow you and Akoba to have the time you need to cement your bond. It will seem and be a long time in there, but only about an hour will pass out here."

Akoba barked, yipped and wagged his tale. Risa gasped and looked him so hopefully. "Today," she said. "Please…"

"Go get your gear and anything that you need," Naruto told her. She picked her ninja-dog and was out of the door so fast that the boys wondered if she had a third wind-based element instead of just having done the Shunsin technique.

"I'd like to meet him," Sasuke said.

"All right," Naruto said. "Can I give him the extra fish that you bought?"

"Sure," the blacked haired boy said.

Naruto moved out into the compound's main yard and said, "It's probably best if I summon him out here." He bit his thumb and said, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Uncle Whitey."

A puff of white and cold feeling preceded the summoning smoke that appeared. "Calling me out now boyo," Uncle Whitey said. A white fox just sat down in front of Naruto, curling his two black tipped tails around his front paws. "What would you have me do?"

"Uncle Whitey," Naruto said. "This is Sasuke, one of my teammates."

"Not the one with the dog then," the white fox stated.

"She's gone to get her gear and will be arriving soon," Naruto said. "I think she really needs that bonding time with her Akoba, because once I said that you'd agreed to help, she was willing to go without gear."

"I see," the white fox said. "Do I smell fish?"

"Yes," Sasuke told him. "Snapper, would you like them." He held up two on a string.

"Did you catch them," the fox asked.

"No," the black haired boy replied honestly, as he remembered the blond telling him to reply honestly every time the fox asked him any kind of question.

"Where did they come from," Uncle Whitey asked.

"The market," Sasuke said.

"I'll take them," the white fox said, after of moment of sniffing them.

Before he could take hold of them, he was knocked over by a small, red fox kit shouting, "Uncle Whitey. Did you come to play with me?"

"Kita, you've grown," the old white softy said. "I see that Blondie's treating all right."

"He treats me fine," Kita said.

"So when are you going to start eating solid foods," the white fox asked.

"Gran'pa says not for a few more months," the kit said.

Risa arrived back with her normal mission backpack that she used time and again for any mission outside of Konoha. This time it was a mission for her. "Oh my," she looked at the white fox. "You're beautiful."

The white fox preened at the complement. Then he said, "Let me see your pup." Akoba was set down and the white fox walked up to it. The young pup looked up at him defiantly. "Good, you're not afraid of me."

Akoba barked and yipped his reply.

"That's excellent thinking," the white fox said. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, sir," Risa replied picking up her ninja-dog. "I believe so."

Naruto handed her a scroll that he'd prepared in advance. "Medicine kit for your hand," he said. "You'll be coming back today, but you'll see what I mean about the time."

"Thank you," Risa said, tucking the scroll into her pouch. She looked to the white fox who brushed her leg with one of his tails and they all disappeared in a flash of white.

Sasuke didn't look happy, but there was nothing that he could do about the fact that he didn't have a contract to summon a creature and he knew that he didn't want some kind of pet or familiar. '_Maybe it's that I don't want to get too attached,_' he thought. '_Maybe it's just that those summons are not for me._'

"Maybe you should reflect on your personality and then figure out which '_Creature Summon_' would really suit you best," Naruto suggested, cutting into the other boy's thoughts. "Having a contract for summoning animals is fine, but you have to know that most times it'll be personal to you and the animal you choose or the animal that chooses you."

"How did you…"

"You have a look about you when you think we might know more than you or something," Naruto said. "It's almost like you think that having a contract is a great thing. Let me tell you that sometimes it's not because even though it gives you power, it's also has a cost."

"What do you mean," Sasuke asked.

"Did you know that your summons can summon you," Naruto said. "Unless it's written on the scroll, that they can't. So beware of the older scrolls before signing them."

"Oh," Sasuke said. "Do you want to spar while we wait for Risa to get back?"

"It might be a good idea to pass the time," Naruto said. "I'm worried, but I do hope that this will help with the unease she's been having."

"Ne," Sasuke hesitated with a scratch to his cheek. "What animal would suit me?"

"Well there are some that are associated by personality," Naruto said. "Others are by elemental affinity sometimes."

"Why foxes," Sasuke asked.

"Other than the fact that I have a king-sized grand-daddy one living in my gut," Naruto said. "I kinda always thought that they were interesting to look at. Plus I read somewhere that there were two types in the world, trickster ones usually called Yako and celestial or benevolent ones called Zenko."

"Let me guess you liked the tricksters," Sasuke said. "That why you like pranks?"

"Should you really be talking to me about pranks," Naruto said with a wry grin. "Fluorescent colours should be outlawed you know."

"Heh," Sasuke honestly grinned. "That was fun. Besides it wasn't really a prank, it was... a mission to test the practicality of the devices I'd built."

"Riii-iiight," Naruto said. "I believe you, really." He grinned mischievously. "I've got one that I need to set up, but first I need to find out the names of the Proctors for the first part of the exam. So I'll be using that excuse too, if they catch me."

"Why," Sasuke said.

"Hi…mi...tsu," Naruto said and the black haired boy just rolled his eyes. "So did you want to spar or look up comparative animal personality traits in conjunction with ninja summonings and chakra elemental compatibility?"

Sasuke just looked at him open mouthed and asked, "Is that for real?"

Naruto grinned and then laughed, "Sounded real didn't it?"

"Dobe," Sasuke muttered, scowled, but couldn't hold it and grinned back.

"Come on sometimes you don't have to think about it so much," Naruto told him. "Psychologically speaking, and yes this is for real, there is a word-association game that will allow you figure out the animal you're most likely to have a good summons compatibility with. I have a scroll back at my apartment that has the steps for how-to, do it."

"Go get it," Sasuke said. "It'll pass the time."

"All right give me about five minutes," Naruto said and then his Shunsinned away. He located the scroll, took out an empty summons scroll and brought everything his teammate needed to create his own summoning contract. '_I knew that this was going to happen, but at least I know for sure that his animal affinity will not be snakes. That Seal I placed on him, should protect him from Orochimaru's bite, if the snake even gets the chance to do it nothing will happen. I do know I'll do my best to stop that from happening._'

They did the test a couple of times and the results were similar. A bird of prey either eagle or hawk came up. Basically because they were beautiful, intelligent, self-confident, not prone to putting up with the bullshit of those they believe to be weaker (for both). They diversified in that the Eagle had the added element of '_impatience_' and the Hawk had the added condition of '_being somewhat sly_'.

Then they reviewed the generic traits for birds of prey (…i…) who're deemed attractive and have showoffy attitudes that sometimes put people off. They're also deemed to be mysterious or enigmatic and those that have tried to dissociate from everyday issues or things that they deem '_boring_'.

Naruto was still grinning and said, "You know that you're kind of like that too." Then he turned serious. "How do you feel about those creatures?"

"I think that they're great and lucky," Sasuke told him seriously. "I like how free they are, but we can't create a summon contract because of the Chunin Exams. I won't have the time to be tested."

"You're right," the blond said. "You won't know if they'll test you or how long it will take for you to be tested. So, what would you like to do while we wait for Risa to come back?"

"Kenjutsu training," Sasuke said. "We haven't done that together in a while and we can use the weighted Bokken sets that we bought on our last mission."

Naruto nodded and pulled out the scroll that he used to carry his practice weapons.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Risa looked around the landscape and was glad that she'd packed several things in order to camp out. Akoba growled at her that Uncle Whitey was waiting for her to follow. "Thank you for this sir," she said. "We truly appreciate it."

"Well there's another reason for allowing you this time," the white fox said. "You see we may belong to a new summons scroll, but older summons that have existed, but have no claimant may come to you in order to offer you or your teammates their scrolls for signing."

Risa's face fell at that because it sounded like they were about to be disturbed.

"Don't worry young lady," the white fox told her. "I put up a barrier as soon as we arrived here," he said. "It'll last the six months limit that you mentioned you needed and if you need more private time, just let me know and I can extend it."

"Will we grow older while we're here," she asked out of curiosity.

"No you will not," Uncle Whitey told her. "Come, the den is warm and I have a private nook for you and your pup."

Akoba barked his thanks at the two-tailed white fox.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto and Sasuke were practicing the Kenjustu forms that they'd been taught. There were a couple moves that the black haired boy knew were no longer comfortable to do.

"Naruto," the Uchiha said, getting the blond's attention. "Form twelve is not correct is it?"

"Do it again," Naruto said and watched the darker youth go through the forms. "What are you thinking about when you're doing them?"

Sasuke paused and then said, "I'm doing the forms from memory, but every time I reach this one I'm thinking of my elements."

"Which one," Naruto asked.

"Lightning," Sasuke said. "Why?"

"Watch me go through the first twelve without thinking making the moves perfect," Naruto said. "I'm only going to think of Wind. Tell me if any of the forms change." The first five were performed correctly, but the sixth to ninth had altered slightly with a shift of the boy's wrist. Ten to twelve had marked differences that even the blond could sense the changes.

Sasuke watched the changes with wide-eyed speculation. The forms the blond did while thinking of his Wind element changed to look like Wind based moves. "Do you think this is what Zabuza meant when he said '_the Kenjutsu technique will change as you grow_'?"

"Hm," Naruto stopped to think about it. "Kenjutsu can't be confused by other sword styles because it virtually is a shifting technique that can be learned or taught and no two will ever be fully the same." He thought about the basic thirty-one katas (...ii...). Thirty-one was a number considered lucky in many and this came from the books that he'd read in his past life. "Why thirty-one base katas for a single Kenjutsu style?"

"My mother's journal has that same question," Sasuke said. "Thirty-one base forms are taught and she couldn't understand why. Personally I don't either. Taijutsu has many forms and more than thirty-one base forms, plus many different styles, so why would Kenjutsu only have thirty-one?"

"It doesn't!" Naruto said with just a hint of dawning realization. "It felt like I just did three new forms."

Sasuke's eyes widened and then he dug out his mother's old journal and read an excerpt, "_Today when I practiced my forms I noticed that I was following my father's style, but I do not understand how that could be. I do my forms twice daily, but today it was different. There's something about Kenjutsu that changes forms the more you practice the known Katas. My brother does not have this difficulty because he is studying the Kendo forms._.."

"That rogue knew," Naruto said. "That...that... he knew that this would happen..."

"Of course he knew," Sasuke said. "He told us that it would change. Well maybe not so much change forms because we can do the thirty-one without thought."

"But maybe it's when we're thinking of our elements that it changes to suit what we know would fit for a form that can be chakra charged," Naruto finished in a questioning tone.

"I think that is it," Sasuke said. "She didn't write much more, but did say that sometimes she thought about her fire element when going through her katas for Kenjutsu practice and that some forms felt weird like she did them wrong after that."

"Now that's something to think about," Naruto said. "I can understand that it wouldn't make any sense to write down a personal form unless it can be taught to someone with the same elemental affinity and even then..."

"There's no way that the style would ever be exactly the same," Sasuke finished. "Well it looks like we've found something new to study."

Naruto nodded excitedly. "I'm curious about the form differences between my elements."

"Yes, that will be interesting," Sasuke said and wondered how their sparring would change because of it. "I'm looking forward to testing it after I've gotten a few new forms down."

"Believe it," Naruto said and then he picked up his Bokkan practice swords to go through the base thirty-one forms of Kenjutsu before fully dropping into thoughts of his chakra elements. His teammate did the same, while they waited for their other teammate to come back from her seclusion period in the land of summons.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Risa was surprised when a huge hawk landed nearby and looked at her. "Are you another summon creature," she asked. "You're like the third one to seek me out."

"True," the Hawk replied. "I was hoping that you had the ability to create a summoning contract scroll."

"One of my teammates does," she said. "I'm going to bring him two requests for those that had approached me. Did you want me to do the same?"

"Is he Lightning based," the Hawk replied.

"No," she answered. "He's Wind and Water. I'm sure that there's also Fire, but he's not admitted it because he believes it to belongs to someone else."

"I'd prefer to contract with Lightning," the Hawk said.

"I'm Lightning and so is my other teammate," Risa told the bird of prey.

"I do sense a little of it in you," Hawk said.

Risa looked at the bird and asked, "Could you tell me why the creatures are seeking me out?"

"Opportunity," the Hawk replied. "You're not here to train and the barrier that Old Whitey had placed here was lifted. He was new and so we figured out that someone can create scrolls."

"I see," she said. "I was told that there was testing for those that created scrolls. I'm sure that my teammate with the Lightning would be a good match for you, but I know that he won't do it any time soon."

"Why not," the Hawk asked.

"He'd be afraid of missing his chance to participate in the rank exams that we have coming up in six days, human world time," she said. "Unless you'd be testing him in here and returning him the same day like I'll be doing."

"If he creates the scroll, then his primary test would be done here in the world of summons," the Hawk said. "The scroll would be for me and my four kin only. Although if created, they'd have the right to name us, we would prefer to maintain our old names though."

Risa pulled out the scroll that she'd been using to keep track of the summons that were seeking a created scroll or a contract with humans in the outer world, as they called the place outside the land of summons. "Your name and that of your kin," she asked. "Will he need to activate the scroll in order to call you forth?"

"He'll need all of our names to be added to the scroll, but only after he's been tested," the Hawk said. "We would like to limit the number of Hawks for this new scroll to be that of myself and my four kin. Should we have offspring then we'd allow them to be added, if your teammate agrees."

"I guess that will depend on whether he'll want to do this or not," Risa said and stopped making notes. "May I ask why you want a scroll created? I would have thought that with several of you, you'd already be contracted."

The Hawk looked at her and said, "Some scrolls do get destroyed over time or are forgotten. Those of us living here know when their contract has been destroyed."

"Yours was destroyed," Risa stated.

"The land was in turmoil and we later learned that a volcano had erupted near the village where our scroll was last stored," the Hawk told her. "We all felt the destruction of it."

"I'll ask them to make the contract scroll, but not activate it," Risa said. "I make no promises to any being that approaches because I do not know what my teammates will say when I return."

"If the decision is a positive one in favour of my kin and the scroll is formed," the Hawk said. "Have the one that calls on the Fox to call for Uncle Whitey request that he bring along Ukko. I will bring the one that creates the scroll here for testing. The '_time_' will be the same as yours in this place." The Hawk spread his wings and flew back to his nest.

Risa looked at Akoba and asked, "What do you think about that one?"

The pup looked up and told her that it might be a good match for last Uchiha. The girl nodded and said, "I agree."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The boys were going through another set of Kenjutsu forms, when a blue light appeared in the centre of the compound. They looked in that direction and then ran to greet their teammate.

"Risa," they shouted, glad that she was back.

"How was it," Naruto asked.

Sasuke was there eager to hear about her experience too. "I can prepare you some tea?"

"That would actually be marvelous," she said. "I ran out a month ago."

"Heh, heh," Naruto chuckled. "I understand what you mean. But at least you were lucky that you weren't being tested."

"Speaking of which," Risa said. "The number of creatures living there without a summoning contract is surprising."

"I know," Naruto said. "There are a lot that I turned down because they didn't feel right and I never made a promise in there. You didn't either, did you?"

"All I said was that I'd bring a list to my friend, but that I wouldn't make any promises," Risa said. She pulled out a scroll. "I wrote down the creatures and my impressions of them, but that if this scroll was burnt that they were to forget it."

Naruto took the scroll and read through the creatures. "I think they were attracted to your chakra elements or that of Akoba's."

"Why do you think that," Risa asked.

"I never met these ones," Naruto explained. "At least it's a small list and... wait a minute," he looked at her pointed at the word Hawk. "Is this for real?"

"Yes," she said. "That one was very different because he gave me his name."

"Really," Naruto muttered. "I wonder why."

"He had the hope, that '_someone_' would create a contract for him and his kin," she explained and looked pointedly at Sasuke, who looked back with curiosity and interest. "He also stated that it would be of similar duration in '_time_' like what I'd just had. If Naruto calls Uncle Whitey, then the leader could be invited along, that it'd be beneficial to the one creating the scroll, especially with a strong elemental affinity matching theirs."

"Time will be the same," Naruto said. "One hour or more here, a year or so there, perhaps you should consider it?" He looked at Sasuke and then pointed at the word Hawk. The black haired boy couldn't deny his interest.

"What affinity do they have," Sasuke asked.

"Lightning," Risa said.

"You didn't want to do it," the Uchiha asked.

"Not enough Lightning to hold their interest," she said. "I'm more interested in one of the others, but I'm willing to wait until after the Chunin exams are over."

"I can see that," Naruto said. "Up to you, Teme? I still have the scrolls and everything with me, but you'll have to pack what you think you'll need. My only advice is not to bring any live blades in there."

"What did you bring," Sasuke asked.

"Whatever I was carrying at the time," Naruto said. "I had the brass knuckles, but never used them or else they'd have stuck to my hands because of the cold. Speaking of hands, how is yours, Risa?"

"It's much better, see," she said, flexing it and holding her full cup in that hand. "It's only when I'm tired that I notice little slips and shakes, but it's still a hundred time better than it was."

"That's good," Sasuke said and then he looked at Naruto and said. "I want it."

"All right," the blond said. "Go pack and I'll get out things you'll need to use in order to write up the contract. You can follow the formula on my FOX scroll up to a point, but I'll show you where to stop and start. I'll wait until everything's ready before calling up Uncle Whitey."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

TBC…

(…i…) animalinyou dot com/ birds dot php (remove the space and change the word dot) – found this nifty sight and a couple of others that have the quizzes to see which type of animal best suits who you are. Be honest if you do the quiz, it was sad and funny at the same time because I got Walrus!

(...ii...) Lucky Prime - en dot Wikipedia dot org/ wiki/ Lucky_number (remove the space and change the word dot)


	21. Chapter 21

**CH 21**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Sasuke had pride. He was proud of many things and even though he'd gone through that terrible moment in his life, he was now proud to feel the sense of belonging that he'd been missing. Team Seventeen was infinitely better than Team Seven had ever been. He was glad to have pushed most of the irritation that he had against Naruto, away.

There were still times that the blond bothered him, but it was never in the same sense that it had been in the past. That boy was a mystery to the Uchiha. He went from '_Dead-Last of the Class_' to being his senior for time in, in the Genin Rank. Something that should have pissed him off and it did for a short time, but doesn't so much anymore because the blond didn't hide what he'd learnt.

There was still the condition that he'd have to ask for training and help from the blond, but that was understandable because Naruto still didn't think that his help would be accepted, if it was just being offered. The black haired boy thought, '_He was right about that, but I'm glad that he's willing to learn and show us stuff that he's figured out. I wonder how come it seems that he knows so much?_'

There was a "Skreee" sound from his window and he sighed, but smiled at the creature perched there.

'_A Hawk summon giving me a hawk familiar,_' he thought and looked at the black-faced hawk (…i…) looking back at him.

It was half the normal size, but infinitely smarter than the average of the species. It had a main white core body and head with mix coloured black wings with some white interspersed. Black piercing eyes with black feathering around them, which made it look like a mask in a white face. It had orange legs that finished in sharp black claws and strange two-tone beak of orange that finished in a sharp down turned black tip.

"Hello, Kasumi," (…ii…) Sasuke said. "Have you finished your flight for the day?" The hawk answered in a series of chirps and skrees, which he understood from his time being tested by the Kin of the Five Stormhawks (…iii…). "Yes, I know I'm going to need new clothing to support your claws. Naruto said he'd be by and that our team was going to go to Akiko's after the second of our mock missions, which should be interesting. I only hope that Sakura is not at her cousin's."

The bird then made a sound that indicated that she wanted a treat, which the black haired boy permitted, since he was still getting used to responding to her wishes. She wasn't a demanding thing and when she spoke to him, she was expecting him to listen.

He'd learned that lesson very fast too. At least part of his time in the land of summons was to focus on the bond that he'd developed with Kasumi. It was relatively the same time frame he'd needed just like Risa did with her pup Akoba. Since the Chunin exams were only days away, they agreed not to take missions, but to train together to work as a cohesive team.

So far, Kasumi scouted for them, while Akoba and Risa were trackers and trap or bomb layers, while he and Naruto were the fighters, mid to close combat. They'd been given the rare permission to do two mock missions in the ANBU training grounds. They needed the room to use their elements and weapons that they'd grown fond of using.

Only their senseis, plus three of the Hokage's trusted ANBU observed their method of carrying out the mock missions. Anyone curious was blocked by the Fujin shields that Naruto had erected around the place and no one could get in or out. The three ANBU included the obvious Hawk, since he was the one that had at one time taken damage from the blond Jinchuriki. The other two were Sparrow and Bear, who had set up a special net trap that Tokuma-sensei had requested for one of the paths.

The first mock mission, involved the rescue of some dignitary's daughter that they were supposed to have been escorting, but she slipped her leash, so-to-speak. Changing their C-Class Chunin level escort mission to a B-Class rescue. This one was thought up, by Kakashi-sensei, because it sound like one of the plots in an Icha Icha book that he'd been reading as the scenario was being set up.

The second mock C to B-Class mission that was about the exploration of some ruined building or castle in order to seek out some imaginary treasure. Risa and Naruto thought this was a bad joke on the part of Tokuma-sensei, since he knew some of the things that had been encountered in the Buried Palace in Suna.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Mission 1 – Spoilt Brat

The mission was going fine until in typical spoiled child mode, the girl that the trio were watching or escorting had slipped passed in them the market and was browsing stalls until her capture by thugs.

Kasumi screetched and sounded the information to her black haired partner, who then related the information to his team. They immediately followed at a discreet distance and were not detected by the kidnappers. Risa and Akoba were tracking the girl's scent, since they'd already confirmed that hers was unique.

Instructions were relayed to them at different times from either their senseis or the ANBU that were observing them. The instructions came at intervals where they were to take action or mention an action they'd take based on the '_pretend_' actions of the kidnappers and the '_kidnapped girl_'.

The team waited for the conditions of the area to be described and they were to also ask specific questions such as building size, number of rooms and did they know the number rooms, were the streets familiar, was it day or night, etc…

They were using the throat communication devices, the military hand signs and even minimal sign language to convey their actions. Risa had used the distracting smoke bombs and the two boys were the ones to knock out the distracted guards when the smoke confused them.

They didn't rush, but they also didn't waste time and the ANBU were impressed that they'd managed to rescue the straw doll that played the part of spoiled princess. They did have a laugh when Team Seventeen had all agreed to leave the girl trussed up until she was safely delivered to her destination in one piece, although not in quite a dignified fashion.

The mission would have been a success, but the senseis and the ANBU stated that complaints would have been placed in their files because of their treatment of the girl after they rescued her.

Risa then looked at the boys and said, "Maybe we should learn patience for the snobs?"

"Let them add the complaints to the file," Naruto said. "Maybe next time we won't get someone that doesn't listen."

"You do know that they just might decide to keep giving us missions like that until we no longer get complaints," Sasuke said.

"I wouldn't be surprised, if that happened to some of the Jounin we know," Naruto said with a speculative and mischievous grin. He knew full well that there was something like that in Kakashi's file because he'd been the Hokage of Konoha and had been curious about his old teacher's past missions.

Hidden in the observation area of the training grounds, a grey haired, one-eyed Jounin flinched.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Mission 2 – Treasure Hunt

Kasumi had protested at the suggestion of being left behind. She'd argued her case and to the amusement of his teammates, as they watched the Uchiha argue with the bird. She landed on his shoulder and nipped his ear as punishment for not listening. In the end the bird won her case and they were grateful for it.

The bird had a difference sense of things and the information was relayed to his teammates. Sasuke had regretted his overprotective attitude and apologized to the bird by giving her treat. She brushed her wing against the ear she wounded in order to apologize in her own fashion for hurting him.

Risa and Naruto knew not to make any fuss about that. They continued to follow the map that they'd been given. Having gone through something similar in the Buried Palace they sort of followed the same pattern, only this time they had someone that could see illusion traps much better than the ninja goggles because the Sharingan saw much more.

They had quickly passed and disarmed a few traps until they reached the room with the wire netting that was set up by devious ANBU that didn't believe that any member of that team could bypass it. Akoba scented the first wire and growled a warning that all three had been trained to listen for. Even Kasumi skreed a comment to her bonded basically telling him that she wouldn't be flying in this room.

Sasuke gasped as he looked at the wire mess in front of them. "Oh, wow," he said. "Don't take another step. Flip through the lenses until you can see them too."

Risa and Naruto flipped their lens to the ones that would reveal all the ninja wires in front of them. "Oh Kami," Risa said. She looked at the smallest member of their team. "Do you think you can still do it?"

"That'll depend," Naruto said. "We need to be sure that this is the last room and that the trap can be disarmed at the other side."

"Confirmed," the ANBU that set the wires said to them. "The switch to retract the wires is on the other side of the room and you can see it."

Naruto sighed and muttered, "This has to have been Tokuma-sensei's idea."

"Well you are getting taller," Sasuke said. "You won't be able to pass through this kind of thing much longer."

"True, true," Naruto said. "Okay, let's set up a rest area twenty paces back, as that area had been deemed safe, unless that's suddenly changed?"

"No changes," a voice came through their communicators.

The team retreated in order to set up a camp situation. During that time Naruto shed his over suit and changing out his footwear for his special toed shoes with grips and them he put on his gloves with the same special grips. He packed all of his gear into his pack, including the weights he'd been wearing to make himself lighter and more agile.

They the watched him go through several extreme stretch routines to ensure that his limbs were loose and ready for the task in front of him. Naruto looked at them and said, "Pray!"

Risa wished him luck, which Akoba barked out too in his nin-dog language.

Sasuke only told him to watch the ceiling and the floor because he'd seen wires roll through in some kind of sequence.

Naruto put up his hood that completely covered his hair. He put on his goggles and left his usual pouch behind for his teammates to take care of. This was the first time he was doing this and his only thought in the matter was, '_This is going to be fun…Gyo_.'

With his Nen Jutsu activated silently, he could detect one more trick that had been added to the wires. Some of the wires were charged with different elements. He grinned and then began to move.

Kakashi and the ANBU had been the only ones that had never seen the boy move through such a complicated mess of ninja wire. Sasuke had only seen a basic demonstration months ago so his mouth was hanging open as he watch the blond use every trick that he'd learn about chakra control to ease he way through that minefield of garrotting wire.

"Risa," Sasuke said to his other teammate. "Is it me or does it look like he's having fun?"

"Oh, he's having fun," she said looking at him with the typical Inuzuka toothy grin. Akoba barked his agreement. "I think this will be one of the few times that he's actually challenged with something like this. Besides, when he showed Team Eleven this, we did it outside. In here, he can use the ceiling and walls to manoeuvre through most of the problems because of the chakra control he'd learnt."

"In the woods what were the moves like," Sasuke asked and hitched his breath, as the blond jumped from the left wall to the ceiling and then to the floor through a set of wires that were contracting and opening with a speed that would have been difficult, if the blond hadn't removed his weights.

"It was more jumping, tiptoeing, and finger holding," she replied. "He can jump really high too, with and without chakra, but his body control is still very precise. Look…" She pointed to the blond that was now bent double over a wire on the tips of his fingers and toes.

Naruto leaned more weight onto his fingers and slowly lifted his legs up and then he split them before they touch a wire that was positioned higher up. He walked forward two paces and then curled his legs still split onto the ground. The next wire that he had to pass was low. He rolled his body into a stretch over one of his legs and from there he rolled so that his torso was level to his legs. He crawled forward slowly with his fingers and hands. Then he rolled his hips to point his toes down and on their tips again he inched forward to pass that low wire.

He paused for only half a breath to do a quick look around and then continued his slow, but steady passage through one of the most complicated wire configurations that he'd ever seen. '_It makes sense that this kind of thing might just be found in old ruins,_' he thought. '_There's no way that this kind of set up could be used for quick ambushes or traps unless the enemy had the time to set it up._'

He was at the last wire wall and all the wires were chakra charged by all the base elements that they tested for. "Sneaky, tricky," he muttered. "There are elements to charge the wires."

"Can you disable the elements," Sasuke asked.

"No, but there's something…" Naruto said.

"Can you counter the elements," Risa asked.

"Guys," Naruto said. "Who knows about our elements?"

"Our senseis," Risa said.

"So why would they set up all elements against me in this, if they knew," Naruto said.

"Maybe they didn't set that up," Sasuke said. "Use your brain Dobe." A code for saying '_Be careful idiot_.'

"Teme," Naruto said and waved at the dark haired boy with a very brief sign that said, '_no worries_'. It was one of the signs that they'd made up as a team without telling their senseis. They felt that they'd needed some signs to convey that they were _fine_, _healthy_, _not worried about the issue_ or a couple of other covert signs that indicated emotions or cautions.

The blond looked at the wires and this time he flipped his lenses again looking through all variations a couple of times and then he found the pattern. He then looked at the walls and ceiling to see if there was something different and that's when he noticed it.

He grinned toothily, pumped a fist in the air and yelled, "WAKATTA!" (I got it!)

Everyone watched to see just what it was that the blond had figured out.

Naruto jumped up to the ceiling sticking there with chakra and then he ran to the left wall and passed through a narrow hole in the ninja wire. Next he ran back to the ceiling and dropped to the floor and quickly crawled under the new hole that appeared in the wire net. He then ran up the right wall and jumped through the hole at angle aiming for the ceiling and then after a count of two, as the sequence nearly reset he dove through the last hole and rolled to a standing position fully through the entire mess.

"Yatta," he said. (I did it!) He quickly disarmed the full ninja wire mess with the right switch and his team watched as the wires retracted into the walls.

"Use caution coming across the floor," the blond youth told his teammates, who did and were lucky that they did because there had been hidden traps in there too. When they were finally by his side, he just looked at them with twinkling blue eyes still pumped from the excitement and said, "That was so fun!"

"Dobe," Sasuke said to him with sigh and a private sign that said, '_Glad you're safe_'.

Risa nodded her head, but had no reservations in hugging him because of his success. "Now, enough of that," she said. "Put your suit back on and carry your own gear."

"Hai, hai," Naruto said, quickly put on his over suit and strapping his pouches and weights back on where they belong. He didn't bother with his regular sandals because the toed-socks were actually shoes too. "How much further do you think we have to go?"

They looked at the map and found that they didn't have far to go to finish up that mock mission and once they were through it completely, they'd all been congratulated by their senseis and the ANBU observers on their impressive teamwork for navigating the maze.

Comments were made about the fact that no one would believe that such a trap would exist during regular missions or when encountering and enemy. They then regretted that they hadn't thought to photograph it or record the boy's passage through the wires. "The Hokage would have wanted to see this," one ANBU said. "I know other ANBU that would have wanted to see it too."

"What makes you think that the old man didn't see this," Naruto asked. "Doesn't he '_see all_' through that glass ball of his?"

"How do you know about that," another ANBU asked.

"I've been in that assembly room before," Naruto said with a shrug. "Had to answer a few questions before the Council and that wasn't a fun time either."

"Questions about what," Sasuke asked curious about why the blond would have to go before the Council with him or the team.

"Himitsu," Naruto said seriously and the black haired boy only huffed and looked away at that statement, like it was something that the blond was always saying. "Seriously, I can't tell you."

Sasuke looked back and nodded. "Understood," he said. "So we've done these two '_missions_' and have found that we can still work together, now what?"

"You're free until July 1st," Kakashi-sensei told them. "Sign the forms and submit them to me before joining the others at the Ninja Academy by four o'clock in the afternoon, room 301." He then had to blink because the forms had already been signed and now they were being handed over to him. "Don't any of you want to think about this?"

"Why," Risa said. "We've already discussed this and we all feel that we're ready."

"That's right," Naruto said. "We signed and if you need the signed forms before we go, well then why not take them since they're signed."

"What's there to think about," Sasuke said in that tone that told everyone that he thought they were asking ridiculous questions. "You believe we're ready, we believe we're ready, so why not take the forms now, sensei?"

Tokuma-sensei gathered the signed forms and saw that they were all signed and dated on the same day. He smiled and asked, "Did you three sign them together?"

"Same day we resolved a few issues," Naruto told him. "Can we go now?"

"Yes," Kakashi-sensei told them. "Dismissed until the day of the Chunin exam," he said and watched as all three looked at one another and then the Genin all Shunsinned out of there with barely a whisper of movement.

The senseis thanked the ANBU for their assistance and then took the forms to get their students names added to the Chunin lists. They had the strongest feeling that their students would do just fine on that exam.

"I still wish we'd thought to record that last bit," Hawk said.

"I did," Sparrow said. "You never know when some young ninja will show you something surprising or even inspiring."

Bear perked up at that and said, "Let's go to ANBU HQ and watch it again. Did you get different angles?"

"Of course," Sparrow said with a full body expression that indicated getting less than two angles was foolish.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Haruno Akiko may not have been eligible to be a full-time Kunoichi anymore, but she did keep her ear in with the local ninja gossip. Her favourite sources were the Genin teams from the same group that she'd graduated with and those that eventually moved up to Chunin ranks or those that became apprentices to the local town industry.

She was slowly gaining steady customers and soon she was going to have enough money to buy a building that could be used as a shop for the clothing she made. The building that she had in mind had an apartment over the shop, however she was still glad that her favourite customers, namely her original team members plus one Uchiha that had become known as her '_regulars_'.

Naruto and Sasuke had booked her for two full days of work and they were due to come this afternoon to explain what they wanted her to make. She was looking forward to their company and to find out why her cousin hadn't come by since the last time she'd come seeking advice. They said that their teammate would be joining them this time, but didn't say anything in case she didn't know about the changes that had occurred to Team Seven.

"Oh well," Akiko muttered, as she made sure her tea things were ready. "Maybe Sakura will be with the rest of her team today." There was a knock at her door. She was excited and opened it to see a nervous looking black haired boy. "Sasuke," she said. "Come on in, you're the first to get here."

He hesitated and then said, "Can Kasumi come in too?"

"Who," she asked. Then she watched him hold out his arm and one of the most beautiful birds she'd ever seen landed. "Oh, she's a beauty," she breathed out. "Of course, you can bring her in. I'll set up a perch near the window for her to come and go, as she pleases."

"Thank you," the Uchiha said, coming into the house removing his shoes and putting on house slippers that were available for the guests. "The others should be coming soon. I think Naruto said something about needing more coloured pencils."

"That's fine," Akiko said. "Here we go," she pulled an old high backed chair near the window's frame. "How's that," she asked the bird. The black-faced hawk flew to the chair and chirruped her pleasure.

"Arigatou," Sasuke said. (Thank you)

"You have a seat, while I get the door," she said. "Help yourself, no formalities among friends." He sat down and waited for the others to be let in. He winced at the girl's Sakura like squeal of excitement and surprise at seeing Risa.

Naruto had quickly accepted his hug and escaped to go find Sasuke. He walked in rolling his eyes and saying, "They've always been like this. Hello Kasumi!"

The bird acknowledged the greeting and then turned her piercing gaze outside to a rodent that had caught her attention. It was fat and looked like it would be a good snack.

Sasuke watched as Naruto served himself some tea with ease. "How were the two of them as a team?"

"They were great," the blond replied. "Akiko worked just as hard as Risa. Tokuma-sensei was willing to test her camo-cloth with his Byakugan. He even got it tested by a Sharingan wielder, but at the time we didn't know who he was going to ask to do that."

"Kakashi-sensei," Risa asked coming into the room. "Sasuke's wasn't activated when we were a team, so it had to have been Kaka-sensei."

"Ne, Naruto," Akiko said. "When you and Sasuke booked me for the next two days, I thought you said that you'd be coming here as a team?"

Naruto and Sasuke looked at one another. Naruto then said, "I told you she doesn't seem to have told anyone."

"Fine," Sasuke said. He pulled out a rare Snow element scroll that he'd found in among the library effects that they'd found and gave it to the other boy. "But you have to admit that there was the she chance that she'd have said something to someone."

"Not if she was embarrassed because of it," Naruto said, tucking the scroll away. Then he turned to Akiko and clarified. "This is our team."

"WHAT?"

Risa grinned, Sasuke had to smirk at the girl's surprised looked and the blond was chuckling in his teacup.

"Aren't you boys on Team Seven with Sakura," Akiko asked.

"A-hem," Risa coughed. "They're on Team Seventeen...with me."

"But I thought that...," the other girl paused and then said. "Okay, explain it to me." So they did, complete with the fact that Sakura, herself, had requested that the team members be changed. At the end of it all, Akiko was laughing so hard at the results that it took a while for her to calm down.

"Returned to the Academy, no wonder she hasn't been back to see me," she chuckled on and off, but still went to gather the files she had for her regulars. "I'll have to measure you guys again before we begin anything new, meanwhile tell me what's going on in Konoha, I've been seeing a lot of foreign ninjas at the market recently."

"The Chunin exams are in Konoha," Risa told her. "We've been recommended."

"Lucky," Akiko said. "But as a team you needed at least eight missions together right?"

"We have twice that," Naruto told her. "It's not by team, but per Genin. So we all have over twice the amount, however Team Seventeen has a slightly better record because we've done...is it nine or ten C-Rank missions now?"

"Eleven," Sasuke said. "Risa got the Land of Wave mission with us and it was after that that we became Team Seventeen."

"Wow," Akiko finished measuring Risa and Naruto. She handed the tape to the blond boy to measure the Uchiha because the black haired boy wasn't comfortable with a girl measuring him. The girls thought it was cute, which caused Sasuke to blush lightly, but they did understand that he was shy.

"So what can I do for the three of you," Akiko said.

Risa began with a request for two hooded coats that were re-enforced for her pup, one light and one for cold weather. She then requested a sleeveless over suit like Naruto's with a pouch in the front for Akoba and more gloves only this time with metal plates on the back like some of the Jounin wear made in a non-slip matte black or dark grey and fingerless. Her under suit she said she would get them from the market, since she could get those quickly.

Naruto requested his usual under suit combination one in dull dark green and a second in dark grey or black, only this time with full leg and arm length. His over suit was the same as always in mottled colours of the village's environment, but he too requested that it have a hood. He then asked for a coat that had a removable thick liner, but that there was no rush on that since their exams were in Konoha. He asked for forearm and ankle to knee leg wraps as covers for the '_dark_' bracers that can be charged with elemental chakra. The last thing he asked for was for a pair of gloves similar to Risa's request.

Sasuke requested a similar under suit combination, only one in dark blue and one in dark grey. He requested an over suit similarly mottled colours, with a slight embarrassed cheek scratch. However he did state that his had to be re-enforced at both shoulders so that his hawk could land on them. Then he asked for re-enforced forearm and leg wraps for the same reason as Naruto, but that some white should be part of it to match his bird's colours. The last thing he asked for was for a pair of gloves similar to Risa's request.

Akiko nodded and said, "I stocked up on the types of fabric for the over and under suits." The blond looked at her shocked. "It's from that textile merchant of ours, you remember."

"Oh him," Naruto said with a chuckle. "Is he still asking for D-Rank escorts?"

"From time to time," Akiko said. "He delivers to me directly before going to the other shops in town and since I know that what I make I sell, I usually buy up everything I need for you. So Sasuke and Risa, will this be part of your normal orders?"

"We decided to get them for the Chunin exams and perhaps after if we like the feel of them," Risa said. "Whether we pass or not, we're still going to be Team Seventeen for a while because of how well we work together."

"I think so too," Naruto said.

"Well you know the rules for this many outfits, you guys have to do some of the work," Akiko said. Then she looked at all three of them and said, "Earrings!"

"What," Risa asked. "We all have..."

"No we don't," Naruto said and looked at Sasuke. "Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke don't, but we're not going to force them into it either."

"I've always wondered why you have them," Sasuke told the blond.

"It was a team thing," Naruto said. "We had them done before we went to Suna for the Chunin exams. Even Tokuma-sensei had his done at the same time."

"Oh," Sasuke said and the looked out the window where his hawk had flown out during their conversation.

"Sasuke," Risa asked. "Did you want them too?"

"It was a team thing," Sasuke said. "I wouldn't want to butt into that history."

"Baka," Naruto said. "The colour is our history. If Risa goes to get the kit and after care stuff for you, we get her to buy a different team colour, that'd be all right wouldn't it?" He turned to the girls who nodded in agreement.

"Of course," Risa said. "But what about Kakashi-sensei?"

"It's his choice," Naruto said. "Plus we don't know if his ears are already pierced or not? We could get the kits for him and let him make his choice on his own."

"I never noticed," Sasuke said. "But then I wasn't looking for something like that on him either."

Akiko then said, "Get them in dark blue, it'll match everyone's eyes after a fashion and it'll match the over suits I'll be making." She pulled out a large bolt of cloth and showed them. "See, it has the standard greens and reds, but there is an undertone of blue in it, instead of the normal brown. There was just something about this one that I liked."

"It's perfect," Risa said. "Yes, I'll go get us some dark blue ones. It's a tradition for us now, for the Chunin exams." She looked at the Uchiha and said, "Take your time and tell me before the end of tomorrow."

"Why the end of tomorrow," the black haired boy asked.

"I know Healing Jutsu for minor cuts," Akiko said. "We used it, when we'd arrived in Suna, so that we wouldn't be distracted. It takes about a day for the redness and discomfort to disappear."

"It won't matter, since his hair is so long," Naruto commented. "Speaking of which I'm due for another trim, do you mind Akiko?"

"Not at all," she standing up and getting the items she needed. "Remember you promised to let it grow out," she said.

"Yes, but I do need to see," Naruto pointed out. "The head band or goggles can hold most of it away from my face, but I need to get it out of my eyes."

Sasuke agreed to the '_team tradition_', saying, "My hair's long enough to hide them for a while."

"You'll need a trim too," Akiko said, as Risa left to get Team Seventeen's new colour of earrings. "It's better to get a little bit cut off in order to let the rest grow healthier. You do know that it looks like you've been using a kunai to cut your hair."

"I do use a kunai to cut my hair," Sasuke told her.

She blinked and said, "Oh."

He pet Kasumi's crest and then asked in an almost absentminded fashion, "Would you mind doing mine too?"

Akiko just smiled gently behind the blond head she was working on and said, "Not at all."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(...i...) www dot google dot ca/images?hl=en&q= black+faced+hawk+images &btn= &safe=images &oi=image_result_group&sa=X (remove the spaces and replace the word dot).

(…ii…) Kasumi means = Mist , see www dot babynames dot com/ name/ Kasumi (remove the space and replace the word dot)

(…iii…) Stormhawks = in no way resembles the cartoon "Storm Hawks", as seen on YTV or other cartoon networks. The name is given because all names reflect the storms that they cause or control, etc…, etc….

**FYI:** Hawk Summons in scroll names come from - www dot names-meanings dot net/ names/ weather (change the dot and remove the spaces)

Leader – Ukko (ex-large)

Advisor – Dumisa (large)

Neutral / Peacekeeper / Scroll Guardian - Vanada (large)

Guardians / Fighters – Barak (mid-size or human size) & Niyal (mid-size or human size)

**Ukko**

Finnish myth name of a sky and thunder god, meaning old man

**Dumisa**

African Zulu name meaning causes thunder

**Barak**

Hebrew biblical name of a military commander, meaning lightning

**Niyol**

Native American Navajo name meaning wind

**Vanada**

Hindi name meaning rain-giver


	22. Chapter 22

**CH 22**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The day before they needed to get to the exam building for the first part of their Chunin, Team Seventeen agreed to meet in order to discuss what kind of equipment they should be carrying with them.

"We pack as though we're going on a mission outside of Konoha," Risa said, with her ninja-dog agreeing. "That way we're ready for most things."

"It makes sense," Sasuke added. "The smarter Genins would be prepared for such eventualities. For most others, they've already been through a couple of these exams, so they already have an idea of what to expect."

"So do we," Naruto stated. "Besides most of them would already be equipped for this kind of thing because had to travel to get here."

His then thoughts fluttered from the difference of his past life to his current one and he was surprised that Kakashi-sensei had never thought advise them on the equipment they might need in the past. '_Although to be brutally honest,_' he thought. '_We never even once asked him about the exams and we were such self-absorbed brats back then._'

"A-hem," Risa coughed with pursed lips. She was trying to hide a grin as they walked down the street. The blond was distracted, but he really should have been paying attention to the fact that a six-legged cubed rock was following him.

Sasuke smirked and slowed his pace to watch the events unfold like it normally does. He pulled out the blue camera that he'd taken to carrying for such occasions. '_At least today the sun is fully out,_' he thought as he knelt down to get a street level view of the six-legged box. '_They are kind of cute in their persistence._'

Risa had her camera out too, only this time Akoba was getting in on the action. He crouched down and growled deep in his throat. She moved to lean against the fence. She caught the blond's mischievous look and she took the picture at the same time that her black haired teammate did.

Naruto knew that the kids were there. For some reason he suspected the brats of having planted some kind of homing device on him because they seemed to always know when he was occupied or not. This time he ran back and forth three or four times with a six legged box running after him, which was also followed by a barking puppy.

He came to an abrupt stop and the box skidded to stop behind him, hoping not to crash into him. Suddenly whoever was in the front and were the eyes of the thing, could no longer see him. Whispers were quickly followed by exclamations of pain, as three children were bopped on their heads by an outside force. The box exploded in three different colours of smoke and coughing sounds.

"Too much gunpowder," Udon muttered.

The puppy sneezed, but at least he'd been rescued the blond before the box exploded and turned over to his bonded ninja before being exposed to the coloured smoke.

"Konohamaru," Naruto said. "What have I told you about the shape of that…that… that thing?"

"I know boss," the boy said with a pout. "But it's the only form that holds the charges for the '_Dynamic Entry_' explosion."

"ARGH," Naruto screamed. "How many times do I have to tell you that ninjas do not do _DYNAMIC ENTRIES_ because we work from the shadows and doing anything that stupid would get us killed?"

"But Boss," the Hokage's grandson whined. "It looks so cool."

Naruto sighed, as his teammates chuckled and giggled at the fact that this wasn't the first time he was lecturing the kids on this. He bowed his head exaggeratedly and then he said, "I did not show you this, I know that and you know that, right. If you get killed on a mission because you did a '_Dynamic Entry_' it will not be my fault, do you hear me?"

The three kids lined up, saluted and said, "YES BOSS."

"All right, so what do you guys want," he looked at them.

"Can you play missions with us," Konohamaru asked.

Moegi looked at the Kunoichi leaning against the fence. "Risa," she said. "Are you free too?"

"Of course," Risa said. "Hey Udon, did you do the calculations for the smoke bombs?"

"Yes ma'am," Udon replied. "Something when wrong though."

"Naruto's right," Risa said. "It's the configuration of the box. But it could also be because you're using the wrong shape for your bombs. Want some quick tips?"

The boy's eyes sparked and said, "Yes please."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

After having received a bit of ninja instruction or a game of missions, the kids, were playing a strange form of '_Leap Frog_'. It was a game of learning chakra control, jumping and doing it as fast as they could. The blond was naturally a part of that, while his two teammates just followed along and took a picture every once in a while.

They had picked up enough speed at the game that sometimes they nearly missed the people on the street and other times toes got crushed, followed by three quick '_Sorrys_', and two strolling Genin that followed. Unfortunately there was one person that wasn't pleased with being run into by the Hokage's grandson.

"Yipe," Konohamaru said as he fell backwards. (…i…)

The guy was tall, dressed in dark clothes with a painted face and his headband wasn't one that belonged to Konoha. However, he only looked down with a sneer and said in a mocking tone. "That's gotta sting."

Then the guy picked up Konohamaru the shirt and scarf at the boy's neck. Naruto called out, "Konohamaru!"

The guy looked at the kid and stated, "That hurt you little snotface!"

There was a girl with the guy, dressed as a Kunoichi in mesh clothing, pale coloured over clothes, four tails in her hair and carrying a large weapon at her back that they couldn't make out for now. "Knock it off," she told the large guy at her side. "You're gonna get it as it is."

"Put him down you great big lump," Risa said. Akoba growled from his spot in the pouch at her front.

"You heard the lady," Naruto said. "Put the kid down, now."

The guy just looked down at the blond boy and thought, '_These guys must only be freshly new to the Ranks of Genin from Leaf._' Then he looked at them from the corner of his eyes and tightening his grip on the poor kids clothes. "Ah," he said. "I just want to play with him a little…while we're waiting for the nuisance to get here."

"You son-of-a…" Naruto ran at him and before the guy could use a chakra trip wire, the blond jumped, avoiding it and kicked him in the face, forcing him to release Konohamaru. "You wanna play, do so with someone your own age, but then again if you fight now you'll be disqualified from participating in the Chunin exams."

"Why you," the guy in the dark outfit said. He then grabbed Naruto and held him in the same hold that Konohamaru just a moment. "I think you should know that I'm allergic to shrimp, so now I'm gonna pulverize you and then I'm gonna take care of the twerp."

Naruto grabbed the guy's wrist and squeezed hard. The guy's other fist was aiming for his face when that wrist received a sharp stab of pain. A stone fell to the ground and the blond was released.

"Teme," the blond said. "What kept you?"

"Dobe, you should have taken him down or at least destroyed his wrist," Sasuke said, tossing up a couple of rocks and then crushing then with his chakra enforced fist.

'_Ooh,_' the foreign girl thought. '_At least there's one cool looking boy here._'

"I know I could have, but I didn't want to be disqualified either," Naruto said. He looked at the bully and said, "I'll get my chances during the exams, I'm more than sure of that."

"Hmph," the guy in the black over suit said to the black haired boy in the tree. "Would look you at that? Another little brat."

"Get lost clown," Sasuke said from his perch. "Fighting outside of the Chunin exams is forbidden among the participants. Continue and we will report you."

"Think you're pretty smart don't you little squirrel," the guy replied. "Why don't you come down here to talk?" He pulled off the weapon he was carrying on his back.

"Kankuro," a dark voice, up in the tree behind Sasuke, said. "Don't! You're such a disgrace to our entire village."

"I wondered when you were going to make your appearance," the black haired boy of Team Seventeen said, as he looked at the boy that just looked at him without expression.

"Is that," Naruto narrowed his eyes and then he called out, pointing to the one that had been named Kankuro. "Gaara nice to see again, you know this loser?"

The red haired youth carrying the oversized gourd dropped down from the tree. "Uzumaki Naruto," Gaara said looking at the boy he'd met nearly six months ago. "I did not know that you'd be participating in the exams again."

The blond shrugged, put his hands behind his head and said, "Well I qualified once, so that doesn't change the fact that I can qualify for all future exams."

"Point, but will you pass this time," Gaara asked and then said. "These are my older siblings, Kankuro and Temari."

"My condolences," Sasuke said, getting down from the tree.

"Believe it," Naruto said. "See you around I gotta get the little minions out of the paths of other visiting Genin."

"Heh," Gaara said. "Who're they?"

"Hm," Naruto said and noticed that the red haired boy was directing the question at his teammates. "Black haired broody is Uchiha Sasuke and the girl with the pup is Inuzuka Risa, they're with me."

"She didn't pass the last time either," Gaara stated and then surprised everyone by asking her. "Is your hand better?"

"It is," Risa said without a twitch of fear, but answered with a genuine smile. "Thank you for asking."

"We'll see you at the exams then," Gaara said to no one in particular, leading his team away from the conflict that had dissipated under the fact that they had just become acquainted. It was that and the fact that the red haired guy's brother and sister were afraid of him.

"Naruto," Sasuke said. "How do you know that one?"

"Met him as we were leaving Suna," Naruto said and then his team ushered the kids back to their families.

"He's different," Risa said and Akoba barked something. "You're right there's something off about him. It kind of reminds me of someone."

"Lets get them to their homes," Sasuke said to the disappointed tones of the three younger children. "It's past time and that's enough excitement for today." They obeyed because of the cool looking hawk that landed on his shoulder, which looked at them with masked looking dark eyes.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The day of the exams all members of Team Seventeen carefully packed, for an imagined difficult mission. They were fully aware that the first part was a paper test of some kind. However it was the second part that they were preparing for.

Naruto and Sasuke both put on their arms and legs bracers that could hold contain elemental chakra, these didn't need Fujin Sigils to hold the charge. They took their time to carefully wrap them to hide the fact that they had that kind of protection on. They all packed their basic camping gear and then added a mix of weapons inside a couple of quick access scrolls. Their swords were packed in order to pull out only after they were separated from the other Genins and only if they felt they were needed. It wouldn't do to show what kind of skills they had just yet.

Risa was happy that Akiko had been able to understand what she'd wanted in her new gloves. They might have looked kind of like the one that the ANBU wore with their uniform, but they weren't really regulation. '_At least my hand can handle the weight now,_' she thought, clenching a fist. '_I wonder just how deadly the second phase will be this time. There were an awful lot of foreigners coming into Konoha this past week._'

They met at the Ninja Academy doors and then they all walked in together. They had no issues on the first floor, but walking up to the second they encountered some milling students that were observing the conflict that was taking place. Naruto groaned internally and thought, '_Damn, I think that I'd forgotten about this._'

They watched a boy with a bowl cut hair style, wearing a one piece green jumpsuit and very thick bushy brows take a beating from two pushy youngish looking teenagers. One was looking down at the boy that they'd beaten and saying, "Is someone as talentless as you really planning to take the Chunin exams?"

The second asked, "Why bother?"

The first youth had spiky hair and several bandage patches on his face, while the second a black chin and neck guard and a black bandana headband that hid most of his hair. Spiky then commented on the Genin he was seeing by saying, "Bunch of wet-behind-ears, snot-nose brats, keh!"

"You said it," Neck replied. These two were blocking a door that showed had the number 301 over it.

A girl with buns in her hair then said, "Please we're begging you, please let us in."

She approached and was about to go through when one of the '_supposed_' guards punched her in the face. One of the watching Genin said, "That's so cruel."

Spiky turned to glare at them, "What was that? I think that you guys have misunderstood something here…"

"We're here just trying to spare you," Neck continued. "The Chunin exam is incredibly difficult…we should know, we've failed three times so far."

Spiky continued, "There are people who made it, then they immediately gave up being Shinobi…Others have ended up crippled…Some were reduced to the mental capacity of vegetables…So believe us when we say we seen it all."

Neck then said, "Besides all that, Chunin are cell commanders. They lead their units."

"The responsibilities for a failed mission and dead Shinobi rest firmly on their shoulders," Spiky finished with the added, "You little punks have the nerve to apply? We're just saving a step by weeding out the obvious losers before hand."

"That sounds good in theory," a voice said approaching the nasty duo that was blocking the room marked 301. "But you'd better let me through," Sasuke told them with eyes that promised them pain.

Risa stepped forward and said, "We have business waiting for us on the third floor."

One of the milling Genin asked, "What are they talking about?"

"Who knows," another replied.

"Your illusion looks okay," Naruto commented. "But my mind really hates it things that don't add up, like the fact that we just walked up one flight of stairs, when we need to go up two in order to get to the third floor, to get to room 301."

Spiky then said, "Hah!"

"So you figured it out," Neck added.

Sasuke tilted his head and said, "Too easy. Like he said," with his thumb pointed at his blond teammate. "When things don't add up, it means that it's suspicious to begin with, which includes your presence."

The illusion was dropped and Spiky said, "Hey that's not bad. But just seeing through it isn't…" he leaned down was about to kick the Sasuke in the face to knock him down. "Enough!"

"Oops," Risa said, and dropped something on the ground under the guy's crouched body. Sasuke and Naruto immediately jumped back out of the way.

"POP!" A cloud of bright purple smoke exploded under Spiky, who felt a lift and the hard push away from his position into slamming into the wall by the doors. He immediately covered his face in case there was something else to the smoke.

The smoke dissipated quickly as a soft breeze blew through the hall. The gathered Genin began to snicker, giggle and then a couple of them laughed. Spiky was struck with a familiar looking fluorescent dye that had afflicted the Shinobi of Konoha a couple of months back.

"Well look at that," Neck replied. "Looks like we now know who the culprit was!"

"Wrong," Risa said. "I just liked the idea and improved upon it. By the way, I'd get out of those clothes before they completely disintegrate off your body. Don't worry though, it'll leave you with your weapons and perhaps a bit of dignity."

Neck looked at his partner and noticed that the colour was eating his clothes. Holes had appeared and were getting larger by the minute.

"Looks like you guys were right," Naruto said. "About how difficult things can get. So maybe the two of you should quit if it's too hard for you. Come on guys, we have a deadline to meet and they've stalled us long enough." He walked ahead of his companions whistling, '_99 Ninjas that Battle and War_'.

Behind them Neck twitched visibly and then forced his partner into the room 201 that had been revealed to had been hidden under the illusion. "You'd better get out of those."

"Nonsense," Spiky said. "I'll just drop the Henge."

They both dropped their Henge, but that didn't stop the dye from eating the clothing underneath. "Shit," he removed everything and emptied all his pouches quickly before the dye could eat through his equipment. He looked back at the closed door and asked, "Kakashi's brats do you think?"

"Yes," Neck replied with certainty. "The others that stepped up must have been Gai's. Looks like we'll have to keep an eye out on them."

"Little bitch was right," Spiky replied. He partner looked and then laughed. "My dignity has been saved." He shook his head and pulled out a spare set of clothes to put on and asked, "By the way, why did you twitch at the tune that blond kid was whistling?"

"Ever have a sleepless night because some tune kept repeating itself in your head," Neck told him and when he received a nod, he continued. "Last night I had a hard time falling asleep because I kept thinking that I heard someone singing 99 Ninjas that Battle and War."

"Oh, that's a nasty one," Spiky said finally changed. "Well let's join the rest of the Proctors. I think we have a good crop this year." His buddy only nodded.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto was laughing remembering the shocked expression of Spiky and the twitch that Neck had when he began to whistle. '_That one must have had a sleepless night, keh, keh. I wonder who else was tagged by the Fujin musical stamps._'

Sasuke chuckled, then turned to his teammate and asked. "Improved huh?"

"Well of course," she replied with her nose up in the air to indicate pride. "It's the little details that are important."

"Like that guy's dignity," Sasuke prodded.

"It would only take the clothes he's wearing with one exception," she replied with a grin. She received curious looks and the beginnings of grins as she continued, "He'll still have his underwear."

"Hah, brilliant," Naruto said. The black haired boy just shook his head and continued to chuckle. His amusement made his eyes sparkle in dark light.

"I'm glad to see that you guys have decided to show up," Kakashi-sensei told them. "Yo," he said when they looked at him and he raised his hand up in greeting.

"What has you three so amused," Tokuma-sensei asked. The three Genin looked at one another with troublesome grins and then looked back at the man, trying to look innocent. "That look hasn't worked on me for years. I'm only here to wish you luck and to tell you, Sasuke, that Kasumi has been sitting outside one of the windows, glaring at a couple of the Proctors and some of the Genin that had arrived before you."

"We've registered her as your familiar, but you really should have her with you," Kakashi-sensei told him.

"She's fine as long as they leave a window open for her," Sasuke said. "She's not some house-pet you know. I can't bring her into every building, besides she was supposed to have gone hunting."

Kakashi-sensei grinned from under his mask and Tokuma-sensei coughed in his hand to hide the fact that he wanted to laugh.

"I believe that she did," their grey haired Jounin-sensei said. "I think that a couple of the Genin have even seen her enjoying that meal." The black haired boy only grinned at that and shrugged. "I'm only here to wish you luck too. You've all been filed as participants to the exam."

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said. Then he opened the double doors to a room filled with Genin from many different Shinobi Nations. Risa followed him and so did the Uchiha, who immediately walked to one of the back windows that was opened to allow a breeze to flow into the room.

Kasumi flew to his shoulder. She noised her contentment at the meal she ate and how funny the people looked when they were watching her from the window. She then fluttered her wings and settled comfortably on the re-enforced shoulder padding getting ready to nap.

Sasuke only pursed his lips to hide his grin and told his teammates, "She had a good meal and people stared at her."

Naruto snorted at that and then glanced around the room. He immediately noted which ones were going to be trouble, like the trio from Sound that were staring at Sasuke. The Grass Genin that were going to die and a few others, those with Kabuto looked like they'd be trouble. '_Didn't Kabuto have two tall stooges with him in the past,_' Naruto wondered and then he a quick chakra signature check, which revealed the Evil Medic's actual third. '_So she didn't sit still? Hm, I wonder if she's even improved or changed_.'

"Naru…" Sasuke began as he too had noted the chakra signature of their former teammate on another team. It was a good thing that he'd been doing that for a while, as he'd been able to side back step Yamanaka Ino's running jump and attempt to get a hold of him. He managed to trip her up and everyone saw her land flat on her face.

"Oops, you really should watch where you're going," he said casually and then turned to his blond teammate and continued his question. "Did you notice?"

"Yep," he said and leaned back against the wall of the room, where he was then joined by the Uchiha and Risa, "Akiko's cousin is in this exam too." He explained to the girl with the pup.

"Oh, this should be interesting," Risa said. "But I don't see her."

"She's in disguise, so we'll just ignore them for now," Sasuke said, as Ino was picking herself up off the floor.

"Sasuke-kun that was mean," she pouted and then she tried to latch onto his arm, but refrained when a certain black-faced hawk was upset at the jostling she'd received and skreetched her displeasure at the girl. "What…"

"Stay away," Sasuke said. "Kasumi doesn't like the noise you're making and neither do I."

"But I could hardly wait," the white-blond girl said with what she believed was a cute pout. "It's so exciting seeing you after all this time, didn't you miss me." (…ii…)

"No," the black haired said very quickly and bluntly.

Ino blinked and then looked around for her pink haired rival and she asked, "What did you do to billboard head?"

"Who," Risa asked.

"Sakura," Ino said. (Cell 10) "Wasn't she a part of Team Seven?"

"Hm," Sasuke looked around noting others that were deemed '_Rookies_' because they appeared to have all been part of his graduating class. "Team Seven was disbanded," he answered absentmindedly.

"That's not possible," Nara Shikamaru (Cell 10) stated. "Cells are created with the best possible matches."

Sasuke snorted and Naruto laughed.

Risa shook her head and watched as the younger Genin congregated together around her team. '_My boys sure pull at them like the fabled piper,_' she thought, while petting Akoba. '_They are not the ones traveling and seeking out these others_.'

"What's so funny," Akimichi Choji (Cell 10) asked. "He's right you know."

"He may be the smartest, but he obviously doesn't know that teams can be disbanded," Naruto said with a laugh. "Looks like we know something he didn't."

"Our team wasn't a good match," Sasuke said. "We petitioned for a change to cell members." He shrugged with the shoulder that wasn't holding his familiar. "They agreed and made the change."

"Really," Ino said. "So who's on your team now."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and answered, "Obviously those three are a team. They even dressed similarly."

"What three," the white-blond twit asked.

"Gee, we must be good at concealing our presence," Risa said to her blond teammate.

"Nah," Naruto said. "She's just unobservant because she hasn't looked passed the Teme."

"Dobe, watch it or else…" Sasuke looked to his right at the blond, who just stuck out his tongue at the black haired boy.

Ino looked and saw Naruto and another girl standing next to her Sasuke. "Who're you," she said the girl. "You're not going after my Sasuke, are you?"

Risa looked sick at the thought and coughed. "I don't go for anyone younger that me, so no, I'm not after Sasuke."

"Hey!" A gravelled or growling like voice interrupted their conversation. "So there you are." Another boy appeared with a dog hanging from the hood of his jacket.

"Uh…Hi," a shy Hyuga girl, said from behind the loudmouth boy.

"Looks like the gang's all here," Inuzuka Kiba (Team 8) said loudly. It was like his voice had only one volume.

Shikamaru glanced at them from the corner of his eye and said, "Including you…unfortunately."

"So…" Kiba said. "All three of this year's newbie trios decided to apply hunh?"

Risa and Naruto looked at one another, pointing to themselves and saying, "Newbie…me?"

Sasuke noted the exchange with a smile, but turned back when the loudmouth asked, "I wonder how far we'll get. What do you think Sasuke?"

The Uchiha just looked at Kiba and replied. "Trying to psych us out by trying to act cool, Kiba?"

"Who's trying," Kiba said. "I am cool."

"Not," Risa said with a snort and her pup agreed.

"Oh, well lookie what's crawled from the den, why are you here cousin," Kiba asked. "Didn't you already fail once?"

"Like that matters," Naruto said. "It just means we've had a chance to gain more experience to prepare for the next time."

"Now who's acting cool," Kiba said with a derisive laugh. "The way we trained there's no way you can beat us, hee, hee."

"Oh shut up," Naruto said. "There's no way that you can take on Team Seventeen."

"I..I'm s..s..sorry Naruto," Hyuga Hinata (Team 8) said, pushing her two index fingers together in her nervousness. Aburame Shino (Team 8) only looked on through his black glasses.

"Aunt always did say that the dog who barks the loudest is actually the weakest," Risa stated and did that ever cause Kiba to growl louder.

Someone from another part of the room said, "Would you guys do us all a favour and just shut up?"

The person that talked to them showed up and Naruto had to hold onto every bit of patience not to snap at the young man that walked towards them. '_Kabuto,_' he thought. '_I'll make sure that they catch him this time around._'

"You three gangs of would-be hotshots are all Genin right? Kids barely out of the local Academy?" He huffed and said, "You all look wet-behind-the-ears and runny-nosed. This isn't a school field trip you know."

Ino was the first to say, "Who the heck do you think you are?"

"Name's Kabuto," he said. "So what?" He looked at the rest of the room beyond the circle of the youngest Genin in the room.

"Why," Ino said, turning to look around like everyone else.

"That group behind you are from Amagakure, Those-Who-Hide-In-The-Rain. They are also known to have very short fuses," Kabuto told them. "Everyone's on edge waiting to take the exam. So I figured I'd tell you before someone takes offence, snaps and decides to beat the crap out of you."

"That's stupid," Sasuke said. "They'd be immediately disqualified if they allowed their emotions to take control like that. Are they professional ninjas or emotional children?"

"You've got guts, I'll give you that," Kabuto said. "Because of that the least I can do is give you tykes some vital intelligence on what you're in for with…" He held up a deck of what looked like normal playing cards. "These Shinobi _**skill**_ cards."

"Shinobi skill cards," Ino asked. "Have you heard of something like that Shikamaru?"

"They're personal," Kabuto said. "I made them and to put it simply, the contain information about the skills we use, which are transformed into symbols and burned into the cards using chakra." He shuffled the deck and then placed in on the ground, saying, "It took me years to collect the intelligence needed for this exam. In all there are almost two hundred cards."

He took the top card off and flipped it to show both sides. Then he continued, "They only look blank…" he put one on the ground and spun it with a finger, channelling chakra into it. "The only way you can read the data on the cards… 

One of the Rookies leaned forward and asked, "What's he doing?"

"By using my own personal chakra I can call forth information. Each deck created is linked to its possessor, so for example, cards like this one," Kabuto explained. An image appeared in on the face of the card. It was a map of the Shinobi Nations.

"Looks like some kind of combination between a map and a bar graph in three dimensions," Shino commented on. "What kind of information is this?"

"This shows how many applicants each Shinobi Nation is sending to the current Chunin exams," Kabuto told them. There were a total of 153 individuals counted, which meant a total of 51 Genin Cells or Teams in the room looking at them.

Gaara had approached them with his siblings to listen to the curious explanation of the cards. "Do your cards have information on individual ninja?"

"You have someone particular in mind," Kabuto noted that these three, Sand Genin were curious and that this team seemed younger than some of the other teams from Sand in the room.

"Those three," Gaara pointed to Team Seventeen.

"Interesting," Kabuto said. He did a swipe of his hand over the deck of cards and pulled up the three members of Team Seventeen.

"Team Seventeen, jointly trained by Hyuga Tokuma and Hatake Kakashi for the last three months, team comprised, Inuzuka Risa, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto." The older youth then said, "That's a strange combination."

"Uchiha Sasuke, twelve years old, missions to date, fifteen D-Class, eleven C-Class and one B-Class, that's interesting. Generally well rounded in all recognized in the eight normal stats recognized by the Shinobi recording boards, with a higher percentage in Ninjutsu and Speed. This is his first time at a Chunin exam."

"Inuzuka Risa, fourteen years old, missions to date, thirty-two D-Class, nineteen C-Class and two B-Class, hm. High stats in Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Speed, with the rest being just a hair above average, failed one Chunin exam, so this is your second attempt huh?" He looked at the girl who just looked back at him blandly without giving anything away. "Looks like I might have to update these."

"Uzumaki Naruto, twelve years old, missions to date…is this right?" He asked the blond boy, who looked at the card and nodded. "Missions to date, thirty-nine D-Class, nineteen C-Class missions and two B-Class missions. Average stats in nearly everything, but Stamina is your highest factor, quickly followed by Speed. Failed a Chunin exam too, how's any of that possible?"

"Genin at age ten," Naruto informed them with a nonchalant shrug, surprising most others in the room. "I was with Risa at the one she failed because I was one of her teammates."

"I see," Kabuto said. "I wasn't at that one. But as you can see, Konoha, Suna, Ame, Kusa, Taki, Oto…This year nearly every hidden village has sent their outstanding Genin to compete in this exam. I don't know much about Oto, Village Hidden in Sound. It's part of a new, small nation, so intelligence on it is lacking. However, the other villages that are competing are well-known, respected, and home to some formidably powerful Shinobi."

Hinata didn't like the sound of that and she asked, "Anybody besides me feeling a little outclassed?"

"So what you're trying to tell us…" Ino asked.

"Everyone here is Elite and hand-picked by their Nation," Kabuto said. "They're the best young Ninja in the world. They have to be because this kind of exam is without any mercy." He was looking at them and thinking he'd succeeded making them quake with fear.

"Hah," Naruto said loudly. "You hear that Sasuke-Teme. We were picked because we're Elite!"

"Dobe," Sasuke said with a wry grin. "I was always Elite. You just needed the extra time in rank until I came along to pull you up to the right level."

"What was that," Naruto mock growled at him.

The three from Sound weren't too happy to hear that the village that they came from was considered under par. They attacked Kabuto with a strange swipe that caused him to throw up and shattered his glasses. They put off a strong vibe of '_killing intent_'.

One of them said, "You're a pushover aren't you? Pretty sad for someone with all that information."

"You'd better add this to you card," another Sound Genin said. "The three applicants from Sound will make Chunin this year!"

'_Those idiots are going to die_,' Naruto said. He glanced quickly around the room and noticed that everyone was speculating on the attack. '_Name of the village gave away their signature attack._'

'_Sound as a weapon, huh_,' Sasuke thought. '_Shouldn't have shown it off because everyone is going to thinking about it and most of the smart ones will have already figured it out._'

An exploding sound and smoke at the front of the assembly room, forced everyone's attention in that direction. A loud voice called out saying, "WOULD EVERYBODY PLEASE SHUT UP!"

About thirty uniformed people appeared at the front of the room and only one was wearing a black trench coat over his. His face was severely scarred and he totally looked like someone you did not want to mess with. "Sorry to keep you waiting," he told them. "My name is Morino Ibiki. I'm one of the Proctors and Chief Examiner for the first part of this exam.

He pointed a blacked gloved finger to towards the back. A lot of the young 'Elite' had begun to sweat at the sight him. "You…" Ibiki said. "Kids from Sound Village! You can't carry on any way you want, when the exam's about to start or do you want to be disqualified?"

"Sorry sir," one of the said. "It's our first exam and we got a little carried away."

"Is that so?" The man asked in casual tone. "Well then let me lay down some ground rules. From this point on there will be no more fighting without the express permission of the examining officer. Even if that permission is granted, anything that endangers another applicant's life is _strictly_ forbidden."

Ibiki then looked at them with a glare that looked like it could kill them as he said, "Any of you little piglets who break that rule are out! Disqualified! No second chances! Got that?"

The one of the Sound Genin had to say, "So this is a test for little girly men?"

The troop of uniformed people behind the Chief Examiner sneered at the kid's attempt to seem that much more experienced than the rest of the youngsters in the room.

"You wish," Ibiki said. "The first part of the selection exam is about to commence."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

TBC…

(…i…) Conversation taken from the manga – starting Vol. 4, pg.136.

(…ii…) Conversation taken from the manga – starting Vol. 5, pg.49.


	23. Chapter 23

**CH 23**

**a) Chunin Exam – Phase I**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Ibiki looked over the group of Genin prepared to take the exams. "Those of you from outside villages hand in your applications and take a seating assignment block from the box being passed around," he looked to the Konoha Genin and said. "Konoha piglets… we have your applications, so just take a block and sit down. Once everyone's seated, we'll pass out the written part of this exam."

Kiba was the one that exclaimed, "A paper test. I thought we got rid of those after we made Genin."

"Troublesome," Shikarmaru said about the loud Inuzuka boy and about the fact that the first test was written.

"Rats," Naruto said. "I hate written exams."

"You did fine on the one that Suna gave," Risa said. "You had to have done well because I know that me and Akiko were not confident in the answers we'd written."

"Luck," Sasuke told him and then went to seat at the seat number that he'd pulled from the box.

"You too," Naruto said to the both of them and then he sought out his seat from the number that he'd been given.

"A..are you ..nervous?" The shy Hyuga asked him.

"Maybe a little," Naruto said. "You just do your best and the rest will work out. You'll see. Luck!"

The poor girl blushed at being cheered up.

Ibiki snorted at that and then clacked the chalk against the board to get the attention of the Genin, not that they wouldn't be paying attention to someone that looked like him. "There are a few rules in relation to this test, so listen up because I'm not one to answer any questions posed by any who don't pay attention. I'll write the rules on the board and explain everything only once. So pay attention."

"Rule number one: Everyone starts off with ten points," the large man wrote on the board. "The test has ten questions and each question has a one point value. For each question you get wrong, we subtract one point from you."

"So, if you miraculously get ten points on your test you retain the original ten points given at the beginning. However if you get three wrong answers, you lose from the original ten and you're stuck with seven points."

He then wrote RULE 2, on the board and continued his explanation of the test, "Rule number two: The test must be passed as a team, this is a team exam. That means that passing or failing is based on the sum total of all three members of a cell. Therefore the object is for each team to have as few deductions as possible from the joint thirty point total you've been graciously blessed with."

Some crazy Genin then shouted, "Wait a second. The whole concept of the starting point and the deductions is hard enough to follow…But what is this '_Team Total_' that you're talking about?"

"Did you not understand the part of NO questions, will be answered?" The man growled out in a tone that everyone understood that he was barely tolerating the protest. "We have our reasons, so SHUT UP and LISTEN. You might eventually learn something."

"Next part is important," he was grinning evilly at the board. "Rule number three: If at any point during this exam, any candidate does anything out of the ordinary…" He paused loving the fact that he could almost hear their confusion. "In other words, if any candidate does anything that leads these honourable Proctors to believe that he or she has cheated, we'll subtract TWO POINTS from each member of the cheater's team." He paused and said, "Get it now!"

The Genins all looked at the Proctors that lined the walls on either side of the rows of students. A Chunin Proctor leaned back in his chair loudly, knowing he had some of their attention, "I'll be looking over your shoulders when you least expect it."

A few of the Genins were now beginning to sweat and they'd only been sitting down waiting to write their test, not exercising or training.

Ibiki, consummate actor, whirled around after having written that last rule and continued his explanation. "If you let the Proctors catch you cheating, you'll bring yourself and your friends down. If you aspire to be Chunin… If you want to be the best Shinobi that you can be…Then you'd better start acting like you already are!"

He was about to tell them to begin, but paused and said, "Oh…One last thing, if any individual loses all ten of his or her points, then that person's ENTIRE cell, regardless of how the other members do, will be disqualified! No points, no pass!"

Ibiki looked at many of the Genin's expressions. '_They are so easy to read_,' he thought, then he noted that there were a couple of kids that were not paying attention to him. '_Now that pisses me off._'

"You have two hours," the Chief Examiner said. "Starting NOW!"

Everyone flipped over the exams papers and most noted that there was only nine actual questions and the last spot where the question was, there was an explanation instead that read: _Question 10: This question will only be provided after forty-five minutes of the exam time has passed. Please do you best to answer the Proctor's question to the best of your ability!_

Many looked at that and groaned. Naruto looked at the first question and shook his head. He took his time to look worried and look around the room, wiggle his leg and then slowly he scratched out his answers. '_It's a good thing that I had been Hokage twice,_' he thought. '_There had been times that during the lulls of office duty that I'd finally memorized base cryptograms, which this is one of the first, keh…too easy._'

Sasuke was a little worried, but then he remembered that he could activate his Sharingan without any noticeable chakra use. They'd practiced this a couple of times to be sure because it was something that he'd have to eventually know, if he wanted to keep it hidden from any enemy that can detect chakra use.

'_Thank Kami for Naruto's bound Henge,_' he thought. '_Let's do this!_'

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and then opened his eyes facing his exam sheet. He looked up slowly and found someone that didn't seem to be worried about his answers and also noticed that this person wasn't part of a cell because he could see that others were looking at their partners with worry. He smirked and began to write the answers that he could see. His only thought was, '_Lucky, on the first try!_'

A short kunai flew passed Naruto's cheek, but he only leaned to the left in order to avoid it and continued to answer the questions in front of him. The Proctor was Spiky and he was surprised that the blond hadn't even reacted to the weapon flying in his general direction, other than to move out of the way. Of course the Proctor was just eliminating the guy behind him that had been cheating badly.

Teams were being eliminated quickly now for their poor execution of their information gathering skills. Hinata looked at him with a blush and thought, '_He's so cool. He didn't even flinch._'

Risa was doing fine too. Her pup wasn't doing anything so obvious at Kiba's. In fact hers was asleep in the pouch, saving his energy. Knowing the purpose of the test they'd made an agreement to answer all questions the same. They had a Fujin seal sending codes to the palms of their hands to alert each other and the seals were a part of the team's nearly fingerless gloves. She was able to answer two of the questions with confidence.

Sasuke copied them, as she wrote them. Then he was the first to find one of the ringers in the room. He signalled this to his teammates and answered two questions with her copying as he copied the person in front of him.

Naruto followed along and answered too, so that it would look like all their answers came from the same source. He then asked if they need a couple of answers and they both did. He pretended to copy someone nearby, but even the Proctor didn't who he'd been was following. Three more answers were place on the test.

Sasuke asked then for the first one and Risa asked for the eighth. The blond signalled '_wait_' and then he overwrote his first answer and then his eighth answer. They each left one question unanswered on the test, having already selected which one. It would be a different one that they'd be leaving blank. The choice was made during the test explanation and rules. They did this in order to tease the Proctors that were going to be stuck correcting them. That is if they corrected them at all.

The Proctor sitting near Naruto was the same one that flinched when he'd whistled that infernal tune. So the blond started slowly to hum under his breath that same tune. A couple more Proctors and even the Chief Examiner heard the tune. The large, scarred man marched up to the blond, creating a shadow on the boy's paper and stating, "This is not an auditorium."

Naruto looked up and said, "Sorry, was I doing something?"

Morino Ibiki, head of Torture and Interrogation twitched, as he heard the tune coming from outside the windows. He looked at one of the Proctors with a toss of his head telling them to seek out the source of the annoyance. Then he looked at the clock and returned to the front of the room.

Four more teams were eliminated in quick succession, but most notable was a complainer from Suna. "Cheated five times? Me? What proof do you have? How can you even watch so many students at once?"

The Proctor who responded, was an interesting one, as he had bandages wrapped completely around his head, including his ears and eyes. His Shinobi identifier, the Hitai-ate, was wrapped at the level of his eyes, as though to blind him. However he moved with a speed that Naruto and Sasuke envied. He pinned a kid up on the wall to his level, leaving the boy's legs dangling.

"Listen you puling brat," the Proctor said. "Listen up and listen up good the rest of you too. We Proctors are Elite, even in a group as skilled as the one gathered here today. We are far above and beyond the best. WE MISS NOTHING!" He leaned closer adding more strength and said, "You feel that? Well I'm as skilled as I am powerful, now get out."

Ibiki observed some very interesting techniques occur in order to get the answers and he was impressed that some didn't even bat an eyelash at the thought of cheating. He looked at those he knew to belong to a few of some of his favourite Jounin, but there was nothing with them. The Proctors even signalled at him to indicate that they couldn't detect any cheating and couldn't take away any points.

The Chief Examiner looked at the clock and then said, "All right. Time for the tenth question…But before we get to the question, there's one last rule that you need to know about."

He looked at many of them and then told them, "This last rule is absolute."

"First… you must choose…" Ibiki began. "Whether or not to accept or reject this tenth question!"

Temari of Sand was upset, she'd had to wait for her baby brother before even attempting a Chunin exam and now this, "Ch..Choose? What happens if someone doesn't accept the question?"

"If you reject the question and don't even try to answer it. You'll lose all your points, immediately," the Chief Examiner said. "You'll fail and both of your teammates will fail right along with you."

Naturally there were some protests and a very important question, "Then why would anyone choose to reject it?"

"Because of the rule linked to it," Ibiki told them. He looked up and said, "If you try to answer the question and you get it wrong... You will NEVER be permitted to apply for the Journeyman Ninja exams again. I'm talking about for the rest of your life."

Kiba shouted out loud, "You can't be serious, that's ridiculous! There are Ninja here who've sat for the Chunin exams more than one time! We know there are!"

"Heh, heh," the man in the black trench coat at the front of the room laughed. " Heh, heh, then that's just your rotten luck. I wasn't making the rules in the past years. I AM in charge now. I've been up front with all of you. You can take a failing grade now and try again later."

"Huh," one of the Genin noised.

"Anyone who has doubts then they'd be smart to reject the tenth question right now," Ibiki told them. "Come back and reapply the next year, and the year after that. Now then let's begin. Those who choose not to accept should raise their hands. Once their number has been confirmed, they will leave the room."

Naruto waited until the numbers were down to near around the same as before. '_It should be fair to keep the numbers fairly the same,_' he thought. A quick look around the room and he knew that he more stubborn of the bunch was there, but not too Konoha heavy.

"Bring it on," Naruto said slamming his hand onto his desk. "I'm not afraid of your stupid question. NEVER underestimate me! I don't quit and I definitely won't run. I'll accept your stupid question, even if I risk ending up a Rookie for the rest of my life. I'm still going to be the Hokage of Konoha, even if it's only by pure stubbornness, I don't care!" He pointed at the man at the front of the room and said, "I'm not afraid of you."

A couple of the Shinobi in the room felt a dzing from that statement. They heard it and couldn't help, but believe it, as Naruto subconsciously tapped into his Nen Jutsu and use the mysterious '_In_' ability to state a truth that was felt by those sensitive to chakra or aura use.

"I'll ask you one last time," Ibiki said staring at the blond kid, who just glared back at him. "This is a decision that could affect you for the rest of your life. Quit now, while you still have the chance."

Naruto snorted and continued his glaring contest without blinking, "I never go back on my word. That's my Nindo…_**My**_ Shinobi way!"

The Proctors looked at the remaining Genins in the room and noticed that every one of them had been affected by the kid's words. They looked more determined now then they had a moment ago. Ibiki was still glaring at him and then looked around.

'_Heh,_' he thought. '_Seventy-eight of them are still here. Hmm…an interesting and entertaining kid, with that comment he dispelled everyone else's doubts and perhaps his own. The number is more than I expected, but…_' He looked at his Proctors and every one of them gave a nod to indicate that no more would quit.

"Good call," the man told the remaining students in the room. "So everyone who is still here… You've just passed the first exam!"

Ibiki loved the shocked expressions on all of the faces in the room. "The seventy-eight of you still in the room, you've just passed. Congratulations!"

Ino leaned forward and asked, "What do you mean we passed? What about the tenth question?"

"There is no tenth question…" Ibiki grinned widely. "Not beyond the whole '_Accept_' or '_Reject_' thing."

"What?"

"Huh?"

"Hey! Then why did we have to suffer through the other nine questions?" Temari yelled at him. "That was a total waste of our time!"

"There is no such thing as wasted time," Ibiki told them. "Those questions had a purpose, which they've already served."

"Huh?" Temari blinked and asked, "Such as?"

"Our goals were to test your skills at spying," the man explained.

'_He seems like he's completely different,_' Ino thought. She then asked, "Our skills at spying?"

"Remember the rules at the beginning? You pass or fail as part of a three-man cell," he said and received a few nods. "That rule pressured you with the fear that anything you did wrong, you would bring your teammates down with you."

"Seemed obvious at the beginning," Sasuke said out loud.

"However…the questions on the paper are beyond the level that any Genin Ninja could be expected to handle," Ibiki continued. "So most of you reached the same conclusion and had only one way of retaining your points…which was by cheating."

Risa sighed, put her elbow on the table, leaned her head in her hand and said, "They set us up."

"That's right," Ibiki confirmed. "To ensure there would be suitable targets for you to cheat from we snuck in a pair of ringers… There were two Journeymen Ninja who already knew all of the answers."

"It took me forever to figure out who they were," one Genin said.

Another replied with, "I know what you mean."

Several others, said, "Me too!"

The Genins' attention was once again drawn to the front of the room as the Chief Examiner removed his head-covering bandana. "Of course anyone that cheated in a clumsy or obvious way…" he paused, as head gear was fully removed. "Failed!"

The man in front of them was the best example of failing. He had multiple scars that had more than a few Genins wondering what happened and why. Others thought it best not to speculate about the level of failure that resulted in something like that.

"You see there may be circumstances where being caught in an act of espionage can cost you more than just your life," he leaned forward in a way that exposed more of his scars. "You pay in ways that can be taken from you little by little, time and time again, when many lives are in your hands there's a precious balance of what you know versus what you give away."

Several Genin gulped at this information.

'_Burn scars, punctures from where screws were used,_' Sasuke thought. '_Long slash marks, not just on his face…He's been tortured._'

'_Cool…I bet that his hands are even worse!_' One of the Genin from Oto (Sound) thought, '_But that's what he gets for being dumb enough to get captured. It'll never happen to me!_'

"The information you get can't be trusted…" Ibiki explained to them as he put his head-protector back on. "If you can't keep your presence a secret from the enemy. Learn that and learn it well. If you bring back intelligence from a suspect source or a compromised operation, you'll only be doing the enemies' work for them and putting those you serve in danger."

"That is why we manoeuvred you into using your espionage skills to cheat at this test," he continued. "It was the quickest way of weeding out the students whose skill aren't up to snuff, yet."

"Fine then," Temari was still put out. "Then what was the deal with the tenth question?"

"Ah! That tenth question was the first real test on the exam," he told them.

"…" Ino then asked. "What on Earth do you mean?"

"Let me explain the tenth question," the Chief examiner told them. "The tenth question was a choice between two real life options. Both are difficult and dangerous. Those who chose to refuse to answer were to fail and this included their friends. Those who chose to accept and couldn't answer the question would have lost any chance of ever trying again. Both were unfair, nasty and in reality '_no-winner_' for either choice."

There were the expressive faces again and he answered their unspoken questions, "So why did I even bother to present them? Well, let's suppose that you earn the Chunin rank that you're fighting for. You're assigned to steal a vital enemy document, knowing nothing about the enemy's skills, deployment or even military preparedness. You may have to cross into a foreign territory that may or may not be heavily mined or trapped. Now…do you accept your mission or do you reject it?"

"Can any of you make the decision to place your lives or that of your companions in such an unknown jeopardy?" He asked them pointedly. "Can any Chunin get away with taking only '_**safe**_' jobs?"

He paused. "Of course not! No matter how dangerous the risk there will always be missions that you cannot decline. A ninja must show valour and something that will inspire those around him to overcome their fears."

"This is the talent that we most value in the Commander of a Chunin cell." He looked at all of them, trying to judge how his words were affecting them. "Those who can't gamble with their own fate…Who would willingly trade today's certain risk for tomorrow's uncertain future are weak and are the kind who only make weak decisions. They don't belong in the ranks of Chunin, in my opinion. By choosing to accept, you answered the almost insolvable tenth question correctly."

He smiled at them genuinely and continued, "If you keep that spirit, you can probably conquer many of the doubts or difficulties you'll be facing. You've all passed the first hurdle. So part one of this Chunin selection exam is concluded. I'll pray that you fight the good fight."

"YATTA!" Naruto shouted and pumped his fist in the air. This had several laughing at his exuberance. The Chief Examiner chuckled too and then stopped immediately, as his attention was riveted to the window outside.

"Ugh," Naruto muttered, banging his head against the desk he was sitting at. He said this in a muttered tone and tapped in out in coded form on his Fujin paper so that his teammates heard him too. "Another one fond of the '_Dynamic Entry_' technique. Who the hell is teaching this shit?"

Risa giggled and Sasuke snorted, but had to agree that entries like this were not quite the proper thing for Ninjas to be doing especially after a lecture on the need for stealth.

At the front of the room, the first examiner disappeared behind a wall of black cloth, as a woman uncurled from her ball like position and said to them, "Listen up maggots, none of you are in any position to celebrate. I'm the second Chief Examining Officer, Mitarashi Anko! Time's a-wastin' people, let's go now, FOLLOW ME!"

She held up her arm air, expecting…'_Well this wasn't what I was expecting_,' she thought. '_No reaction and here I'm standing with my arm up like a fool_.'

"Anko," Ibiki said from behind the cloth. "Can't you sense the mood in here?"

The poor woman blushed slightly and then quickly counted the number students. Then she dropped her arm, placed her hands on her hips and said, "Seventy-eight, have you gone soft? Ibiki that's like… twenty-six teams?"

"This year we seem to have some exceptional applicants," Ibiki told her.

"Yeah right," Anko sneered. "I'll cut them down by half before the next test is done. Ooh, I'm getting charged just thinking about it." She faced the room. Her whole body was nearly shaking with excitement and her grin was dark, as she said. "I'll just explain things in detail as soon as we move to our next location…so follow me, NOW!"

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The group of Genins that had been pumped at knowing that they'd passed the first exam, now looked slightly leery of the place that they'd been lead to. There were a lot of huge trees behind a metallic mesh fence two stories high. Some of the root sizes from the trees beyond, well those that they could see beyond the fence, were almost as tall as it.

Of course the number of chained locks, the huge '_NO TRESPASSING_' sign and the evil grin that their second Chief Examiner gave them, didn't ease them any. She turned to look at them and said, "This is Training Ground: Forty-Four, it's also know as the Forest of Death."

Naruto looked up into the trees and then he looked at Risa, saying, "At least this time the walls won't be moving."

Akoba scented something and yipped something at his bond mate. "There is that," Risa said. "But the Palace was dead, this place is very much alive and with life…" She shrugged and looked at both her teammates saying, "It's always survival of the fittest in places like this."

"Hm," Naruto said, turning his attention back to the examiner. '_Orochimaru is in this crowd,_' he thought. '_I'd recognize that chakra signature anywhere. Please Kami, guide me in the protection of my friends and let me kill him during this exam, if I can._'

The crazy lady in front of them then said, "You're about to find out first hand why it's called the Forest of Death."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and asked in a stage whisper, "Is it me or are they trying to psych us out at every stage of this exam?"

Anko developed a notably angry look and said, "Cocky little shit, aren't you?"

She threw a kunai at him. He quickly dodged it, caught it in his hand and had it pointed at her neck before she could even lay hands on him, as she'd thought he'd been cut and was about to taste it.

'_No way is she cutting me this time around,_' he thought. '_Or licking my face either, disgusting woman._'

"Oooo, you're quick little boy," she said with her eyes blazing at the feel of the pinprick of her own sharpened kunai at her throat. "I'm looking forward to testing you."

"Hmph," Naruto said. "Take your blade and continue on with the instructions Crazy Examiner Lady. I'm looking forward to a stroll in that quaint little park of yours."

"Heh," Anko said taking her kunai back. "Brat! Well it looks like we have a couple of fools this time around. Should be a lot of fun. Before we begin the second exam, there's something that must be dealt with here and now."

She held up a stack of forms that everyone could clearly see said, "CONSENT FORM" at the top. She huffed at many of the confused looks and then explained, "They're consent forms that everyone has to sign. We want to clear up any detail and be covered before any death occurs. You need to sign the form before you go in, so we can't be held liable. You wouldn't want to get me in trouble, would you?"

"Before you sign, let me explain the second exam to you," Anko said. "Each three man team must sign the forms and turn them in at the hut behind me, as a team. Got that?"

The forms were being passed around and she continued to explain about the second phase of the Chunin exam, "Now about the exam…To put it simply it's a no-holds-barred survival test."

Shikamaru took the form and then thought, '_Survival, eh? It's just another pain-in-neck exam, ugh!_'

"Let's start with the topography of this particular training ground," Anko said, unrolling a map. "Training Ground Forty-Four is bordered by a circular perimeter of iron fence, with a total of forty-four locked gates at equal intervals. There are forested sections, a river and in the centre there is a tower which is about ten kilometres away from all the gates."

She looked around to gauge the reactions of the students. "Within the confines of this beautifully secure area, is where you'll undergo the your second test, using every means at your disposal to survive. This means your ninja arts, weapons or what ever else you may have up your sneaky sleeves. Think of this as an '_Extreme_' version of 'Capture the Flag' or in this case 'Capture the Scroll'."

"Scroll?"

"That's right," Anko said. She held out two scrolls of different colours and with a different word on each. "There's an Earth scroll and a Heaven scroll. The object of this is to finish with one of each, which means that your team has to acquire a second scroll."

"Since there are twenty-six three man teams, this means that thirteen of you will begin with a Heaven scroll and the other half will begin with an Earth scroll," the crazy lady explained. "Your objective is to hold onto your own scroll, get your hands on one of the other kind and bring them both to the centre tower in the middle."

"That means only half will pass," Ino said with a sigh.

"That's right," the examiner said. "There's also a time limit…I'm giving you all one hundred and twenty hours, in which to complete this exam. That's exactly five days."

"Five days," Ino said and then thought. '_My hair will be totally ruined._'

"What are we supposed to do for food?" Choji asked loudly, his stomach was already starting to rumble.

"Hmph," the woman said. "That's your problem. The forest's full of nature's bounty. Of course it's also full of man-eating animals, deadly insects and many poisonous plants."

"There's no way that thirteen teams will pass this part of it," Risa said. "Not under those conditions."

Anko just grinned and said, "Also as the time shortens, the trials will become harder, as you get more desperate. You'll have less time to deal with mistakes, recover from any accidents or injuries. You'll be surrounded by enemies at all times, so you'll have to sleep with one eye open."

"Now, in addition to those who die in attempts to defend or capture a scroll…" she paused much too cheerfully. "Some of you are bound to succumb to exhaustion, exposure, starvation and dehydration. So, let's talk about the rules…and what offences you can be disqualified for!"

She held up one finger and said, "Obviously, the teams that fail to reach the tower…in time…as a three man cell…not carrying both Heaven and Earth scrolls…are out. That includes any team that loses a member to death or due to severe injuries."

"Under NO circumstance can any of you leave the forest before the time is up," she told them. "No recess! No time-outs!" She paused, somewhat dramatically and then added, "Oh, also, you're forbidden from looking at the contents of the scrolls until you're inside the tower."

Someone had to ask, "What'll happen if you sneak a peek?"

"That's for those who look, to know," Anko replied with a dark grin. "If any of you make it to the Chunin level, there will be times when you'll be entrusted with top-secret documents, so consider this a test of your trustworthiness. That's all the explanations you're getting from me. Trade your team's three consent forms for a scroll. When you've gotten your scroll, choose a gate. Everyone will begin at the same time."

A Proctor stood up from the booth and pulled a curtain, saying, "It's almost time to distribute the scrolls."

"One final piece of advice," Anko told them all. "Stay alive in there."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(…i…) Several conversations have been taken from the manga or animé depending, which is cooler – starting Vol. 5, pg. 78.


	24. Chapter 24

**CH 24**

**b) Chunin Exam – Phase II**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

'_Stay alive she says_,' Sasuke looked at the consent form. '_This is really going to suck, if there are some hunting us down, just they'll see us as weak._' Kasumi was flying over the forest, but she didn't go far. There were a lot of natural enemies of her kind in there. She flew back to her bond mate and told him what she'd found.

Naruto leaned against him back-to-back and made notes as the black haired boy tapped out coded information on the Fujin seal that was still aimed at the palm of his hand. Team Seventeen had chosen to wear gloves similar to Risa in support of her need for them. It was just like Sasuke was wearing earrings to feel that sense of belonging he'd needed even if he didn't show it.

The blond's notes were basic, but also included a semi-detailed map that he been able to draw from memory after having seen the one that the second Chief Examiner had shown them. From it they knew approximately where they wanted to begin. '_This is so different from the first time around,_' Naruto thought. '_We're going to have to be on the look out, but I think that this will call for Shadow Clones to be used to find that Snake_.'

The three gathered around and looked at the information, including the map. "Here," Risa said, pointing at two entrances down from where the river passes through the forest. "It'll get us into the trees quickly and we can stay in sight of the river."

"Good plan," Naruto said rolling up the map and notes he'd made. "Teme make sure you note the teams that are at the gates close to the one we choose."

"Of course," Sasuke said. "We need to know who thinks we're pushovers and who we can target."

"We'll have to be careful because I know some will be coming after us thinking that we're weak," Risa said. "Easy targets, perhaps they'll even think we're easy to kill."

"They're going to be in for a surprise," Naruto said with a hidden grin.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Morino Ibiki looked at the small piece of paper that had the image of a mouth on it surrounded by several Fujin symbols. The purpose was not hard to interpret from the sound coming from it. Every time someone whistled or hummed the tune to "99 Ninjas" the paper would play the song through, all the way down to "1 Ninja" and at the same time of the whistling or humming of that tune, it activated all others.

It was also chakra activated so that anyone putting out chakra in the area of the paper would start the song from the beginning at "99 Ninjas", again, and for all posted Fujin patches.

'_Clever_,' Ibiki thought. '_You spread a couple of these out at random and anyone using chakra to search for the source activated it and re-set all others. Once activated it completely disappears from normal human sight too._'

The Proctor he sent looking for it had found it stuck on the wall outside of the testing room and he had been one of the ones affected the night before. The man had then gone to his home and found three of the tags of the same size with the same markings.

Ibiki had everyone that had been affected go to their homes and bring back any suspicious looking three inch square pieces of paper. He too went to his place and found four. He returned to find that everyone that had had a sleepless night, the night before were Proctors for the written test.

"Bold," Ibiki said. "Whoever it was that did this, knew who the Proctors were. I want to see all the written tests for the Konoha teams that had passed. It's someone from that group."

"Why not just talk to the kid that started it," Spiky, whose real name was Hagane Kotetsu had asked. (…ii…)

His partner in crime, named Kamizuki Izumo, nodded in agreement, "The blond brat started it."

"The one that changed the number of those dropping out," Ibiki muttered. "Give me their tests." He was then given Team Seventeen's tests. He quickly looked over them and noticed that they had all left only one question, completely unanswered. It wasn't the same one for any of them, but all three had answered every other question on their sheet with the exact same answer as their teammates.

"We didn't detect and cheating," Izumo said. "I even asked a couple of others that had their eyes on them. It was easy to see how the other Rookies and Gai's teams cheated, but there was nothing to note on these three. Technically they all keep their points because we detected no cheating."

"I think that I need to speak to their senseis," Ibiki told them. "Double check which ringer they were copying from, after that give their tests to me."

It was quickly done and Morino Ibiki strode down the corridors to the room where the Jounin teachers were waiting to hear about how their teams were doing. He paused by the door to listen to a conversation that was taking place.

"It's not like Suna," Tokuma said. "All the teams left the testing building and told us if they'd passed or failed. We could at least travel to that area with them. This time Anko just took them all out to the testing area."

"They're not babies," Kakashi said. "We don't need to hold their hands for them to follow orders, can we help you Ibiki?"

"Figures you'd know that I was there," the large man said striding into the room. "I'd like an explanation for the test answers and these." He tossed the tests to Tokuma and dropped about three hundred and fifty paper squares with the Fujin prank on them. "How did they do it?"

Kakashi picked up one of the squares to look at it closely when it suddenly turned to ash in his hands. He picked up another one and it too turned to ash before he could read the markings. "Interesting," he said. "Tokuma you pick up one."

The Hyuga did and it too turned to ash in the man's hand. All others on the table turned to ash and the secret was gone. "What the…"

Ibiki huffed and then explained the whole story behind the now large looking pile of ash. "They were planted outside of the exam room and in the homes or barracks of the Proctors," the man told them. "Any other Ninja were not affected because, and I'm guessing here, they had to be mission ready today."

"There's not much that we can do about this now," Kakashi-sensei told the man. He glanced at his co-teacher and then asked, "What's wrong with the tests?"

"The answers are all the same," Tokuma-sensei told him. He looked up surprised and said. "Word for word the same. They all left one question unanswered, but the ones that had been answered look to have been copied word for word from each other."

Kakashi then looked at the scarred man's irritated face and the grinned. "They weren't caught were they?"

"Not one mark against any of your three," Ibiki confirmed. "I couldn't see anything and the Proctors couldn't see it how it was done. I want to know just what the hell you've been teaching them."

Kakashi looked at the Hyuga with a confused look. "I didn't teach them anything to cover this," he said. "Do you know of something?"

Tokuma looked at the ash and then looked at the tests. He looked just as baffled as his co-trainer and said, "No I do not." He sighed and then said, "We might have to talk to them after they get out of the forest."

Ibiki snorted and then asked, "How do you think they are going to do in there?"

"They were mission ready when I wished them luck at the doors," Kakashi-sensei told the man.

"Mission ready," Ibiki said in a questioning tone.

Tokuma smiled and explained, "They were dressed as though they were about to accept a C-Rank mission." He paused for effect, making many pay attention to his answer and continued, "You know, something that would take them outside of the village."

This information shocked every other Jounin in the room. One of the foreign Jounin actually accused him, "You told them."

"Nope," Tokuma said.

"Two members of my Team had already been to the Chunin exams in Suna," Kakashi told them. "So they had an idea of what to expect, what's wrong with that?"

Asuma looked over and asked, "That was enough for them to interpret what they needed to bring with them to a paper test and prepare for the next phase?"

"Mission ready means mission ready," Tokuma told the other Jounin in the room. "It doesn't matter if it's a paper test, baby-sitting or escorting someone. They were always mission ready for anything within Konoha and only truly needed five to ten minutes in order to be mission ready for anything else."

"I want answers to this," Ibiki said pointing to the tests. "The Council and Hokage are going to want answers too…" He didn't have to finish that statement to anyone else in the room.

'_If they developed a new technique to gather information in the field,_' Kakashi thought. '_Without all of them needing to be in the vicinity…_'

'_We need to make sure that no one else knows of this,_' Tokuma finished. '_Not until it's been field tested too._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Team Seventeen had selected Gate 12 and Sasuke immediately noticed the creepy group from the Village Hidden in the Grass, a few gates down at Gate 15. He didn't like how the tall one with the long hair kept looking in his direction. The looks were very subtle, but he'd noticed them and instantly didn't like it.

At Gate 16, there was Cell 8, Kiba's team. Their reason was simpler than anyone else's because they knew part of this training ground, due to Kurenai's unforgiving teachings. They were ready for this type of mission. They also noticed that some of the foreigners were not going to be ready for what could be found in there.

Not too far from them was the second creepiest team. The team from Sound were at gate 20. Using the Fujin note relay technique that they'd perfected without notifying their senseis. They had wanted to surprise the men with it, only after they successfully completed the second part of the Chunin exam.

'_Two creepy teams too close_,' Sasuke signalled. '_Grass and Sound, do we engage? Do we fight to survive or take out enemy?_'

'_Sound use sound waves to attack,_' Naruto said and Risa agreed. '_Have to ready seals to protect ears and other parts of body from vibration damage...Are you ready to kill?_' His teammates both looked at him to gauge his seriousness in this matter.

Risa gulped, but knew that if someone came at her with the purpose of killing, she'd have to defend herself. In Suna they never had to truly kill because they'd figured out the shifting walls. This was a different test and there were too many factors to not engage in some kind of battle to the death at some point.

Sasuke, for all his need to kill his brother, he had not really once thought about the act of killing. He'd thought about getting stronger to defeat him, avenging the death of his kin. Killing in defence of one's self is different from actively seeking out someone to kill. His blond teammate's eyes were different at this moment and that's when he realized that the blond had killed before. He didn't know the circumstances, but he knew that the blond boy had taken human life at some point during his short twelve years in the world.

'_I don't know,_' Risa replied honestly. '_I promise to do everything in my power to overcome this wall, but right now I don't know._'

'_Same,_' Sasuke told them honestly.

'_I'll make twenty-six teams of Kage, once we're through the gates,_' Naruto told them. '_They'll bring us the scroll we need to us. We'll defend our lives and fight to the death if we have to. Team Seventeen will be tried in the Forest of Death. It's the one place we can kill and know we won't be penalized for it._'

There was that. They had permission and everyone had signed similar consent forms.

"Agreed," Risa and Sasuke said together. Then they grinned because that had been said at the same time.

"TIME," the second Chief Examiner said. All gates were opened by an unlocking technique using chakra.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Konoha's Team Eight flew through the trees seeking out one of the interesting areas of the Forest of Death. Their coats were specially ordered or made for them by the sensei and their parents. It was their sensei that had suggested they get them in order to regulate their body temperatures or at the very least hide them.

A random team from Konoha had followed these particular Rookies. They flicker-flitted to the location, paused in the trees above them to listen to the conversation that they were having.

"The Tower's where everyone is ultimately going," Shino told his team. Hinata nodded.

Kiba then added, "…So we might as well set traps as close to there, as possible." His ninja-dog companion indicated that he heard something. "Found them already, huh? Where are they?"

The leader of that particular group said, "Stupid kids…they might as well be shouting, '_capture us!_' from the sound of things they know we're somewhere nearby, but they haven't figured out where yet."

The leader then paused, felt something on him and he didn't know what it was. One of his team members asked, "What's wrong? You're as white as a sheet."

"ARGHHH," the leader shouted. Then the other two saw something attached to the back of the guy's neck.

"What IS that thing?" Another said loudly. It was then that they heard the rustle from the trees, they looked up and there was a bunch of things falling that looked like foot long slugs.

"AAAAGHHH!" They all screamed from the terror of the unknown.

Team Eight only looked on in the direction of the sounds and waited patiently for the inevitable.

The other Konoha team fell from the trees using their weapons to kills all of those things. "Eeewww," one groaned. "Gross."

"Ick," another said with a shudder. "Hunh," his voice a questioning tone as his hand tripped a hidden line of ninja wire.

Kiba grinned and said, "The flying leeches of Konoha Village can sense perspiration and body heat. They fling themselves en masse! If you can't get them off your body in five minutes, you're finished and if you panic trying to get away from them…you really should have known about them… That's one team down!"

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The panicked sounds of; "AAAAGHHH!" could be heard all through the forest and at the place where the examiner had first told them the rules of the second phase of the exam.

"Well," Anko said with an evil grin. "That didn't take long."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The team from Sound had their orders. Kill Uchiha Sasuke and any that were with him. They didn't care about the stupid test to become Chunin. They had personal orders from their Kage that they were pleased to carry out.

The team from the Village Hidden in the Grass was a fake team that had been body switched or face peeled by Orochimaru, who was known as the Snake Sannin. They were there to kill and the Sannin was there to test a few of the children for the growth potential. It was either that or to test their potential to become vessels for him.

This was what Naruto knew from his past life. This is what he felt was going to happen in this life too, however this time his team was prepared as much as they could be. They had access to their elements, they had different skills then they'd ever had in the past and he knew that he didn't have to tap into the Fox's chakra to do more than he'd ever done in the past either. So Orochimaru couldn't put a five gate Seal on him this time to disrupt his Chakra flow because he'd never know that the blond boy was the Jinchuriki of Konoha.

As soon as all gates were opened, they flicker-flitted quickly through the trees finding a hiding spot where Naruto could summon his Kage Bushin. Three teams received a scroll from him. They had their instructions already. They quickly took off to find Gaara and his siblings to deliver the information on their father and who was really behind the broiling war issues that were floating around their village.

The rest were to seek out an Earth scroll and bring it back to him. If a team of three found one, then one of them would pop out to notify the others and the rest would make their way to the area that Naruto knew was the place that a confrontation with the Snake Sannin was going to occur. Each Kage Bushin had enough chakra to do one E or D level elemental spell, including the Henge spell to look like Team Seventeen. This was a new trick that he'd learned and practiced. He'd told his teammates about it and they thought that it would be great to use as a tactic, especially with his amount of chakra access.

They paused in a clearing and sensed that someone was buried under the ground nearby. They used the Fujin speech patches that Naruto had planted to prank the Proctors, only this time the speech patches talked about simple strategy and passwords, while they were having their true conversation in sign language.

(…Who do you think it is…) Sasuke asked.

(…Grass…) Naruto said and the black haired boy grimaced. (…I think they're strong too…)

(…Suspect or know…) Risa asked.

Naruto sighed softly and signed. (…Know…)

(…Tell us…) Sasuke looked at him.

(…I've seen a couple of things that don't add up…) Naruto told them. (…I'm only a Genin so I don't know who to bring this up to and have them believe me, when I'm telling the truth…)

(…Senseis…) Risa said. (…They'd believe…)

(…Without proof?...) Naruto said. (…I have feelings, but no proof…)

(…That's why you push us to learn different things…) Sasuke said. (…Kenjutsu, Genjutsu, Elements, making us think of new ways to use them…)

(…Ninja wars are still going on…) Naruto told them. (…That's what the Chunin exams are for. A show of strength related to a Shinobi Nation. Skills are tested and proven. The real wars…) He paused and then continued. (…Real wars are happening from the shadows and covertly. That's the simple truth…)

(…We kill if we have to…) Sasuke said. (…We'll probably have to because the feeling I get…from my gut is that Grass will kill and same with Oto, they're not here gain Ninja Rank…)

Risa nodded and then said. (…Let me take care of the eavesdropper if I can. New spell…)

The boys nodded and then watched her focus her hand signs. She didn't shout her spell. A whisper was enough to activate it and the boys knew this too. Softly she said, "Earth Style: Mud Brick Coffin."

The area where the hose was sticking up out of the ground shot up in a solid brick, seven feet long, four feet wide and two feet tall. It was like a cement coffin had risen in piece of solid earth. The person in there couldn't move.

'_Interesting_,' the Grass Ninja thought. '_I wonder which child did this particular spell._' He backed out of the brick cancelling the Ninjutsu that elongated his neck to the position where he'd been able to listen to the conversation and get the password.

(…He's gone…) Naruto signalled. (…We're out in the open, beware of Genjutsu…)

They all looked up and jumped out of the way as a blast of wind came at them in a steady flow of leaves and dust. They hid in separate locations and waited to see who would be coming from the direction of the windblast. Unfortunately the blast didn't send any of the three towards the area where a snake had been laying in wait for a lovely free meal that it had been promised.

A Naruto Bushin stepped out of the bush and said, "Let's get out of here."

The others knew who it was that was guiding them and didn't question it. They didn't bother with the password game that the Grass Ninja had overheard. It was pointless since all their passwords were signal based and tapped into the palms of their hands.

Sasuke and Risa flicker-flitted following the Kage Bushin to another location where they immediately noticed some of the traps. Risa had her ninja goggles down and Sasuke had his Sharingan active in order to see such things, but no one could tell that because of the bound Henge and protection he had in place. They flitted to the tops of the trees and watched two of Naruto's Kage Bushin, Henge into them. The three Bushin huddled, as though to continue the conversation that they'd started when the windblast had hit them.

"Making me chase you is not my idea of fun," the Grass Ninja said. "I'll be taking your scroll now."

"No way," Naruto (B) (…iii…) said. "You give us your scroll."

"I'm guessing that you're prepared to steal it," the Grass Ninja said. Then the ninja stuck out his long tongue, wrapped in around the Earth scroll he'd been holding and swallowed it. He was delighted by the disgusted looks that he was receiving. Pushing the scroll down his throat he directed the kids' eyes to his own as he said, "We'll fight to the Death!"

The Bushins were attacked by a Genjutsu and with the most real simulation of death that the poor clones had ever felt, but they didn't dissipate. They remained solid because physically they had not been attacked. Naruto was directing them to act in the most logical way.

Naruto (B) complained, saying, "What the Hell?" and looked so pale.

Risa (B) was still stuck in the illusion, but she was crying because it had been so overwhelming, it was like her own fears had been called up.

Sasuke (B) had to act like a tough guy, but threw up bile at the intensity of the spell.

The three originals were hidden and observing this happen. It was interesting to note that they had been able to hide, as long as they did nothing to draw the attention of the Grass Ninja. Sasuke stared at the person and thought, '_Who the heck is he? I bet that Naruto knows._'

Naruto (B) and Sasuke (B) were able to move and together they did what a team would do. They got their teammate away from their in a tactical retreat and avoided the flying kunai that were hurled in their direction.

"Interesting," the Grass Genin said. "I wonder how they were able to move from the fear." The Bushin were breathless together and huddled again only this time they were immobile as a gigantic snake came at them and swallowed them whole.

Naruto knew that the Snake Sannin was inside the thing using some kind of symbiotic technique. He used nin-wire attached to a shuriken and wind to direct the path of the wire. It wrapped around the snake pinning it to the limb it had been curled around. It ended at Sasuke, who'd just finished the hand signs for a Fire Style spell that sent the hot fire down the path of the wire.

The Grass Ninja escaped from the head of the snake as the smell of cooked snake fell in multiple pieces to the ground. "Fascinating," the man said. "So what did I eat? It tasted so real."

Sasuke had already hidden again and another set of Bushin engaged the Snake Sannin. They watched, as the body of the Grass Ninja was twisted around a branch and talking at the clones. "My compliments for destroying the snake," he said to them. "But you missed."

Naruto (B) then did, Wind Style: Vulcan's Blades, while the Sasuke (B) did, Fire Style: Phoenix fire, as that fire was five times hotter that his Grand Fireball. The Grass Ninja was so occupied that it didn't notice that they Bushin popped away and two more took the place of the two that had done the spell. He was too busy unwrapping himself from the tree and found that he was stuck.

Risa (B) had cast a D-Level spell called, Earth Style: Clay Adhesive. Once that spell had been cast she too, was replaced by another of Naruto's Bushin.

Vulcan's Blades actually managed to hit the Sannin, who howled from the pain because several cuts and the cauterizing amputation of one of the man's arms. The blades were actually directed to attack him by the original Naruto even if he wasn't the one to call them forth. However the blades also cut the tree limb and let the Grass Ninja fall to the ground.

Naruto didn't call forth more Bushin. He was only using the ones that he'd created for this purpose. As each one was attacked or destroyed, he was getting a better map of the training ground and the dangers contained within, not counting any of the Genin teams.

'_Concentrated Sun Shower,_' Sasuke tapped out in code. '_Flash Freeze_?"

Naruto blinked and then looked at his teammate, nodding to indicate that he'd learnt that Snow Style spell. He did the hand signs for the Sun Shower spell and had it deluge down in a concentrated area following the Snake ninja. Then quickly on the heels of that he did the Snow Style: Flash Freeze that he'd learnt from the scroll he been given by Sasuke.

The result was a glued Snake Sannin with several severe injuries that wouldn't be healing any time soon. A sudden rainstorm that turned the entire area below the Sannin into a wet muddy mess, including fully drenching the man. After which everything that had been wet was suddenly encased in ice so cold that, if anything happened to be living after that, it would be a miracle.

Team Seventeen looked at one another. They stayed where they were, tracking chakra, movement and basically anything that would tell them that the person below them was either dead or dying or had cloned away.

'_Send down Bushin,_' Risa said. There were still a few hanging around with them. The blond nodded and three more took the place of the team to investigate the area.

Orochimaru had been surprised to feel the pain from wind hot wind blades that lit with fire. He'd been falling and Kawarimi'd not to far away to try and figure out the team of Genin he'd been facing, when suddenly he was drenched by a freak sun shower that had broken through the trees. He looked up and felt a cold blast, chilling him to the bone.

'_This is not possible,_' he thought. His body was frozen. He couldn't move, but he was able to watch the three descend from the trees. '_They're looking for my body,_' he thought. '_They won't find…_'

They did and were standing in front of him looking at him through the layer of ice. The girl leaned in and was looking at his feet and knew that he'd linked into ground. He was slowly sinking in when suddenly his feet were encased in some thing solid. He couldn't move.

'_They don't even know who I am,_' he thought. '_I'll be able to escape sometime._'

(…Well what do we do with him…) Risa asked in sign language. Frustrating the Sannin because he couldn't hear them talking and they were barely making any movements.

(…The crazy examiner lady is in the forest…) Naruto told them. (…One of my Bushin found her and is guiding her and two ANBU here…)

(…Do we wait…) Sasuke asked.

(…We should, to make sure he doesn't escape…) Risa suggested. (…Naruto you might want to cancel a few of them to preserve your chakra to do that Freeze thing again, if needed…)

(…Point…) Naruto said and dispersed the ones that had found their way back to him. He still had a few looking for Gaara and a few were escorting the one that had the Earth scroll.

(…Let's set up temporary camp and guard schedule…) Sasuke suggested. (…Will you tell us more about who you think his is and what you think is going on, while we're waiting…)

Naruto nodded and began to dig a deep fire pit that could be covered. He had some herbs that when burned would turn the animals away from where they were.

They'd followed a routine that they'd used during their travels waiting for the examiner and the ANBU to arrive.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

In another section of the forest, Team Eight had come upon a confrontation between the siblings from Suna and a group from the Village Hidden in the Rain. They'd been planning to steal extra scrolls, but something else happened. (…iv…)

They watched the brutal destruction of three Rain Genin and this had been done with only sand. Sand that had been in the complete control of the smallest of the three Genin from Suna and it was done without even the slightest hint of remorse or pity. Three of Naruto's Bushin had found them and were listening to the conversation and watching as the events unfolded too.

"Akamaru says that the sand stinks of blood," Kiba whispered to his teammates.

'_Cool,_' one of the Naruto's Bushin thought. '_This is the first time we can witness Gaara as he was before…_'

"A wall of sand," one of the Rain Ninja asked. Stunned that his rain of a thousand needles failed.

"Exactly," Kankuro confirmed. "Infinitely malleable and an impenetrable defence. Only Gaara has ever mastered this art. He draws the sand within the sphere of his own massive chakra and then manipulates it in to the shape he needs and renders it utterly solid. Even more remarkable, it is completely done with no conscious effort and is independent of his will. Therefore any frontal assault on him is doomed to fail!"

"No way," the Rain Genin said. "Those needles should be able to pierce any wall even one of tempered steal five millimetres thick." The shield fell away and the needles to the ground. "Blast!"

"You're not even good enough to touch our Gaara," Kankuro concluded.

The large Rain Ninja was noticeably upset about this and ran to attack the red-haired boy. Kankuro watched his baby brother for the signs for one of his favourite Jutsu and thought, '_It's your funeral._'

Sand from the surrounding area, including some of Gaara's own converged on the hapless Genin.

'_Sabakukyu: Coffin of Crushing Sand_,' Gaara thought. Holding the Rain Ninja inside the sand blocked the Genin's control from the umbrella's that were still up in the air after they'd released the needles, so they fell to the ground.

Temari then said, "As you can see, he has total mastery over the sand in the ground and in the air as well."

"I can free myself easily enough," the Rain idiot said.

"If you don't stop yapping, I'll seal your lips and cut off your air," Gaara told him, as he picked up one of the Genin's abandoned umbrellas. "But you're hardly worth it." He popped the umbrella open and then he lifted his hand up and in doing so lifted his captive up in the air.

He closed his hand into a fist with the thought, '_Sabakusoso: Imploding Sand Funeral!_' The sand surrounding the captive crushed the Rain student, popping him and causing a shower of blood and guts to rain down with a splattering sound.

"It's quick and painless," Gaara said. "I used far more force than was necessary to ensure that." Then he said something almost prayer like, "Bitter crimson tears flow from lifeless eyes and mingle with the endless sands, bestowing ever greater power upon the demon god."

The two other Genin that had watched their companion panicked and shaking in fear, they gave up their scroll. "Here…take the scroll… please…just let us go!"

Gaara was not in a forgiving mood or he wasn't quite the one in control. His two arms were out and soon the other two were wrapped in blankets of sand. The last thing that one of the saw was the blond girl with four pigtails, smiling at him, waving and saying, "Bye-bye!"

Kankuro stepped up to the scroll and said, "Lucky us, we needed the Heaven scroll. Now we can head for straight for the tower. The sooner we're out of the forest the better!"

"Not yet," Gaara said turning to look in the direction of the hidden Team Eight. "No…" The red-haired boy said. "I'm still not sated."

"Come on, Gaara," the painted Kankuro said. "Let's just go."

"Are you frightened?" Gaara asked. "Coward!"

"Gaara! Maybe you'll be fine," Kankuro said. "But Temari and I can't afford to take chances! One set of scrolls is all we need, we're done."

"Fool…" Gaara said. "I don't take orders from you."

Naruto's clones were looking at them. One decided to drop down and take a chance at being able to relay the message. "Awesome technique," he said, stepping up to them. "How you doing Gaara?"

"Uzumaki Naruto," Gaara said. "You are lost?" He blood lust was lost at the sight of the one person that had never reacted in fear to him. He formed a sand cork and pulled back all his own sand back into his gourd and sealed it.

"Nope and just call me Naruto," Naruto (B) said. "I came to deliver something to you."

"What," Gaara asked and watched with widening eyes as the boy got really close to him. He noticed that the boy was kept his angle so that those in the bush did not see what it was he was delivering. A small scroll was slipped into a hidden pocket of his front sash. "Come any closer and I'll kill you."

"I'll let you," Naruto (B) said with a smirk. "Do what you will with this information," then he leaned in closer, almost hugging the other boy. He whispered in the closest ear, "My original, will Seal Shukaku properly before or during the next phase of this exam." Just as spear of sand pierced his heart and dispelled him.

"That was a Bushin?" Temari said, "He seemed so real. I could even sense his presence."

They walked away leaving Team Eight breathing heavily in fear. "No wonder Akamaru was so upset, he was trying to warn us about that boy."

Shino looked at him and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Akamaru was trying to tell you not to mess with Gaara," Naruto (B) said, hopping down from the tree that he was in. He was the last one there as their job had been done. Any others were still popping out after having mapped some section of the Forest.

"What the hell?" Kiba said looking at the blond idiot from his old class. "How'd you get here?"

"Hm," Naruto (B) said. "I walked?"

"H..how d..do you know Gaara," Hinata asked him.

"Met him about six months ago in Suna," Naruto (B) said. "Even his own sister and brother are afraid of him. Poor guy probably doesn't have a friend or anyone to believe that there's good in him. I thought he was pretty cool though."

"You're not Naruto," Shino stated. "Who are you?"

"Nobody," Naruto (B) said. "If you have two scrolls, don't be stupid by waiting til the last minute to get to the tower." He put his hands together, which they all noticed he was about to cancel a Jutsu. 

"W…wa…wait," Hinata said and notice that the Bushin was focussed on her. She pushed her two forefingers together and asked. "Can you give him a m…m…message?"

"Yes," Naruto (B) said.

"T…te…tell that he'd better stay safe," Hinata rushed out and continued quickly before she lost her nerve. "Wish him and his team luck."

"Believe it," the blond Bushin said with such conviction that they almost believed that it was really Naruto there, until he popped away in dispelling smoke and a soft, '_Poof_'.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto grinned at the words that Hinata had said to his Bushin. He was making notes on his map as his other Bushin were popping back to him. "Hinata wishes us luck," he told his teammates. "They have two scrolls and so does Gaara and his siblings. I think they're headed for the tower now."

"Heh," Risa giggled. "That's nice of her."

Sasuke smirked and said, "She's one of you fan girls."

"I know that there are a couple out there," Naruto said. "I don't encourage them and frankly I'd rather have them then ones that hound you."

"Ugh," Sasuke said. His teammates snickered.

"Interesting sculpture," Bear ANBU said, as he dropped down and stared at it, knowing that someone was in there and whoever it was, was still alive.

"Personally I think it's ugly," Sparrow ANBU commented. "Nice sealing technique, but it's not a normal one is it?"

"All right Blondie, what's this all about," Anko said. "That's just a block of ice, we have something more important to do than take care of some blockhead you've captured."

"Are you looking for this person," Naruto said holding up a drawing of the Grass Ninja that had attacked them and was currently inside the block of ice.

"How do you know," she growled trying to intimidate him. "What do you know?"

"Who do you think is inside that block of ice," Sasuke asked her in a tone that questioned her ability to actually think clearly. "That's the one that attacked us."

"What," she whirled to look at the person. She noted that there was a cement block at the bottom. "What's this?"

"He was trying to escape by traveling underground," Risa said. "We just stopped it. The seals prevent the Jutsus from breaking down, especially the ice, since it is kind of warm out."

"Why preserve him and not kill him," Bear asked.

"We're Genin," Naruto said. "We weren't sure that we could successfully kill that person."

"Why did you suspect that person of being stronger than the average Genin," Sparrow asked.

"His face is peeling and his tongue is way too long to be normal," Risa said with a shudder. "He could command snakes and he was actually inside one guiding it around, until we did this."

"His body moves like one too," Sasuke continue. "He twisted around the tree limb just like a snake. It was disturbing."

"Here," Naruto said, tossing a cauterized limb at them. The Sparrow ANBU caught it, looked at it and then looked at his companions in shock. "That belongs to him. As you can see, the over skin is peeling and there's an interesting tattoo underneath."

During all these explanations, the ANBU and Anko watched the Genin pack up their camp. "Where do you three think you're going?"

"The Tower," Risa said. "Why?"

"You can only go there if you have two scrolls," Anko said.

"That's not true," Naruto said. "We can go there, set up ambush for those that have their scrolls and steal them."

"Smart thinking," Bear said. "Tell me, what do you know of Orochimaru?"

"He's a missing-nin," Sasuke said. "One of the three Sannin from Konoha."

"His head's worth a lot in the Bingo Books," Risa told them. "Really a terrible a person."

Naruto scratched his cheek and told them all. "I think he's got followers in Konoha."

Everyone looked at him in shock. How could a Genin find out something that even the Hokage didn't know?

"Kabuto," Naruto told his teammates. "The geek with the cards. He's a medic of some sort, but is really twisted in the head."

"How do you know of this," Sparrow asked. "We'll need to check this information before acting on it."

Naruto sighed and then he pulled out his small drawing pad. He wrote something down on it and added an eyes-only seal to it. "I need a drop of your blood to lock this information," he said to the ANBU. The two only shrugged and did as asked. They watched the words disappear. "Since Kabuto is in the forest right now, you'd probably be able to investigate this quickly. To reveal the information on the paper push your Chakra into these two spots where your blood was absorbed. It'll take both of you and you can only reveal this information six, maybe seven times before the paper turns to ash from overuse."

The ANBU were surprised at that, but then they nodded and tucked away the small scroll. "You three had better leave now," Bear said. "We'll take care of this person and the issue you've entrusted to us."

"Konoha is my home," Naruto said. "I don't want to see it fall in a real war."

Sasuke and Risa were waiting for him at the edge of the clearing. As soon as he joined them, the three adults watched them flicker-flit away with surprising speed and ease.

"You two guard this piece of shit," Anko said. "I'll notify the Hokage and the another ANBU squad. I'm sure the Ibiki is going to love having a chat with this one, unless there is an order for instant execution."

The two ANBU looked at one another, shrugged and waited keeping an eye on the block of ice was easy, but they really needed to check out the kid's information. Sparrow knew that Anko would become distracted by the exam, so he used his summons to send a note to his squad leader, just in case.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

TBC…(…i…) Several conversations will be taken from the manga or animé depending, which is cooler – starting Vol. 5, pg. 178. (Note, storyline will deviate a bit, perhaps not who fights who, but the snake issue…well you'll see)

(…ii…) www dot leafninja dot com/ biographies - (change the word dot and remove the spaces), Hagane Kotetsu, Kamizuki Izumo.

(…iii…) The (B) next to a character name means it's a Bushin or Clone. This will be used for the remainder of this story.

(…iv…) Vol. 7, pg. 71

Gate 16 – Kiba, Hinata, Shino

Gate 27 – Shikamaru, Ino, Choji

Gate12 – Team Seventeen (Heaven Scroll)

Gate 20 – Team from Sound – furry guy, girl and loud mouth poser

Gate 38 – Kabuto's team

Gate 6 – Suna Siblings

Gate 15 – Orochimaru & Killers

Gate 41 – Gai's team, Lee, Neji, Tenten


	25. Chapter 25

**CH 25**

**c) Chunin Exam – Phase II**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Team Ten, which consisted of Ino, Choji and Shikamaru, weren't doing so well. Every encounter that they'd had had left them barely clinging to their own scroll and only because those that they'd encountered were carrying the same one.

"How the hell are we going to get a scroll from a weaker team," Ino complained.

Choji only said, "I'm hungry."

"Tch," Shikamaru pouted. "This is getting us nowhere. There has got to be a team weaker than us."

"Maybe we can find a team that were weak enough to look at their scroll," Choji put out there.

Shikamaru paused and remembered which teams were near their Gate. "Good idea," he said. "I think, I know of a couple that would do just that. Let's go."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Team Seventeen (B) flitted through the trees and unfortunately encountered the team from Sound. "Well, well, well," Dosu said. He was the one with the head wrapped up and a hairy over cloak with one arm in a bracer full of holes. "Lookie what we have here. The Sasuke kid we were sent to kill."

"What are you talking about," Sasuke (B) said. "Why would anyone want to kill me?"

"You're just loveable ain't cha?" Naruto (B) asked him with a mock grin. "I can think of a number of people that would want to kill you."

"So who're you and why should I care that you think you can do anything," Sasuke (B) looked at the Dosu.

"Dosu," Kin, the girl of the group said. "We have our orders."

Risa (B) looked up and the girl and knew that they were about to be tested in a different way. "Are you here for our scroll? Because I'm sorry to say that we've lost it."

"Stupid girl," Zaku said. "We're just here to kill you. We don't care about some ridiculous test."

"Very well," Risa (B) sighed and released the wire trap at her feet, where she'd been sitting on the ground.

A huge log dropped down swinging and aiming for the three that jumped to attack the three Bushin. "No problem," Dosu said and sent an explosive force from his hand to destroy the log. "Weak!"

Behind the log, Naruto (B) used a Wind Style to force all log pieces to fly back at the Sound team and Sasuke (B) lit them on fire.

"No way," Zaku said and his team dodged most of the burning bits of wood, but some actually hit them.

"Way," Risa (B) said and then all three poofed out of existence having expended the last of their energy.

"They were all clones?" Kin said. "That's not possible."

"It is possible," Zaku said. "That's what, the fifth set we've come across? Why are you so surprised?"

The Naruto (B) dropped down in the middle of their group and said, "We're done and at the Tower you morons. I suppose you'll just have to take this exam seriously and get there on time with two scrolls." He looked up at the sky and then said, "You've got another two days."

He vanished with a pop as Zaku waved his arms and sent out a blast of wind from his hands. "It looks like we'll actually have to go there and go through with this farce of an exam."

"Pah," Dosu spat on the ground.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto giggled at the shocked expressions from the Sound Team, as they realized that they'd have to get to the Tower in order to actually fight with the real thing. "That's five that they've taken down," he told his teammates, as they walked into the tower. "I'm worried though."

"Why," Sasuke said. "Because they had orders to kill me?"

"Yes," Naruto told him honestly.

"Neh, Naruto," Risa looked at him. "If you received orders to kill, would you?"

"Some missions are just that Risa," Naruto said, looking at her. "The higher in rank and skills you are or have, the more difficult a mission can be. We were lucky that the B-Class ones we'd been paid for were only for high-level protection and escort, not killing."

"B-Rank contains killing missions," Risa said, blanching a bit. She gulped and asked, "What about A-Rank?"

"Hm," Naruto said walking up to look at the scroll on the wall, while telling them about mission ranks. "B-Ranks are usually given to '_Special Jounin or Chunin_' because the risk factor is greater than C-Rank mission. Usually it's about protective escorts of a higher rank than Tazuna, gathering foreign intelligence and killing other ninja, but not as covertly as expected of A-Ranks. A-Ranks are different and include a lot of liaising between different Shinobi nations, VIP escorts and actual battle type missions or combat situations, but killing orders can be classed as A-Rank too. S-Rank or un-Ranked missions are the most dangerous and can include assassinations, transporting classified documents or materials." (…i…)

Risa gulped and was glad that she'd never been asked to kill anyone. "A Hokage has to know that though," she said. "Don't they?"

"Yes," Naruto said. "He or she also has to trust his Shinobi to be able to carry out those orders. You don't have to go higher in Shinobi rank or re-enlist once your contracted years are up. The choice should always be the one that makes you the most comfortable."

"You claim that you're going to become the Hokage one day," Sasuke said. "You'd actually be willing to give a killing order."

"Yes," Naruto told them in honesty. "The people of my village are important and have a right to live the life they choose to live. A Hokage just makes sure that they can do that in relative peace, by doing everything necessary to protect it." He swallowed and looked away from them, saying, "Even dying for it. Isn't that what the Yondaime did?"

"He did," Risa said. She looked at her teammate and knew that there was a gap in knowledge here that shouldn't exist, but she still accepted him as is. "I'm going to be comfortable with the Chunin rank or level, I think…Only time will tell how far I will actually go, so for now let's solve this mystery."

Sasuke looked at the blond and had come to the same conclusion about the knowledge gap and yet they were nearly at the same levels in terms of experience and skills. "I think the meaning of that is pretty simple," he said looking at the faded scroll on the wall. "If we take Earth to mean our bodies and Heaven to mean our minds or spirits, then there is something that encompasses it as a whole."

"Point," Naruto said. "So, scrolls now?"

Kasumi sckreed and Akoba barked, gaining the attention of their bonded.

"Right," Risa said opening the Heaven scroll.

Sasuke opened the Earth scroll and both dropped them to the ground immediately. "A summons?"

"Hey, kids…!" Umino Iruka said popping up from the combined scrolls. "It's been a while, eh?"

"Iruka-sensei, why are you here," Sasuke asked. "I'd have thought it'd be one of our Jounin instructors."

"The spell was designed to call forth Chunin, since that's the level you three are aspiring to become," he told them. "It was just good luck that I got to be the messenger for the three of you."

"Messenger," Naruto said. "Why'd we need a messenger?"

Iruka looked at them and said, "You're timed and a Chunin is sent to tell how well you did and to let you know that you have to remain in the tower until the full run of the exam's time had been completed. So you three are the fourth team to make into the tower with two days to spare."

"Woohoo," Naruto jumped up. "We did it this time Risa! We did it Sasuke-Teme! We did it!" He jumped up and back flipped a couple of times.

"Yes," Risa said. "But I don't believe that Iruka-sensei was finished."

"Oops," the blond said. Then he came to stand next to his teammates at '_parade rest_'. He looked at the man who was looking at all of them.

Iruka came to the conclusion that these three were going to be fine. He didn't quite seem to know them anymore and that was surprising. He couldn't wait to hear about their adventures. "I'll treat the three of you to Ichiraku's Ramen once you're free from the tower. I'd like to hear about all of you."

"Thank you," Risa said for all of them. "Is there more that you need to tell us?"

"Yes," the man said. "That scroll on the wall, what do you think of it?"

"Heaven is our mind and Earth is our bodies," Sasuke told him. "But I don't know what that blank spot should be filled with? You know that part with '_The "_(something)_" is the secret way that guides us from this place today_'. What fills that space?"

"The single character is the same as the one from the summoning scrolls," Iruka-sensei told them. "It's the word '_Jin_', meaning one person or all people." (…ii…)

The man then continued to explain what it means to be a Chunin. "The challenge of seeing who survives the five days is part of the exam designed to test the applicants' basic Chunin abilities." He looked at them and smiled. "You all passed with flying colours. Chunin _**are**_ the unit commander class…Responsible for leading their teams. They can only do so by combining strength and intelligence. It can't be emphasized enough. It must be learned and lived. Believe it from the bottom of your hearts. Keep the Chunin directive foremost in your minds as you move onto the next exam."

They all saluted him and it was truly then that he realized, '_Kakashi, it looks like you and Tokuma understand what these kids can truly handle._'

"Since you're early you've been assigned a suite of rooms in the tower," the man told them. "Here's the key. I'll guide you it."

"Thank you Iruka-sensei," Naruto said.

"Please tell me it's got a shower at the very least," Risa whined and her pup yipped in agreement scratching an itch behind his ear.

"It does," Iruka told them.

"I'm first," the girl told the boys holding a shaking fist in their direction to dare them to complain. They backed away holding up their hands, having long since learned to never get between a girl and a shower.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Sarutobi looked from Anko to the ANBU squad that had escorted the block of ice to a cell and they were waiting for Torture and Interrogation Unit to come to the conclusion about the identity of the person inside it. He'd sent out several '_Special_' Chunin and Jounin, plus the two ANBU to investigate the three locations within Konoha that young Naruto had written down on a piece of paper.

The Hokage was afraid of what that might mean and why he'd never been able to detect this kind of activity. There was nothing from the intelligence network other than some small rumblings of a coup, but then again the small rumblings were masking the truth. It might actually be hiding war. The questions were always the same, '_Which nation wanted a full scale war and why_?"

It only took the '_Special_' teams a few hours to find the answer. The places were turned inside out and whatever Kabuto thought he'd hidden, were found. There had even been a missive waiting for him in the form of a small grass snake. The little sucker had been fast and hard to catch, but it had been caught.

The ANBU Bear and Sparrow showed up at the Tower carrying the snake with the message inside it. "So it's true," the Hokage looked at it. "Interesting method of transporting messages. Anko do you feel anything?"

"His anger and frustration," she said clawing at the mark. "It's not that painful anymore."

"The Chunin exams will continue," the Hokage decided. "You two," he told the ANBU in the room. "Bring him to me in the meeting room and do look out for his '_invisible_' traps." Bear and Sparrow left the room quickly, knowing exactly whom the old man wanted to see.

"Do we knock or barge in," Bear asked.

The door in front of them opened and revealed a girl of about fourteen. "Knocking is more polite," she told them with a look of impatience. "What do you want?"

"The blond," Sparrow said.

"He's in the shower," the black haired boy told them. "Either come in and wait or stand out there looking like you're on guard duty." The two ANBU came into the room.

"Was it Orochimaru," Sasuke asked them and then noted that they only stared at him. "Guess Naruto was right about that Risa."

"Of course he was right," Risa said, brushing the fur of her companion and looking him over for ticks or other types of buggy infestation. It had to be done, as they'd been in a forest. "He usually is about things like this."

Sasuke only humphed and lay down on the bed he'd been sitting on. He looked up and noticed that Kasumi was looking down at him. He couldn't keep a foul mood whenever he saw her. Then he sighed and asked, "Did you find Kabuto's lair?"

Naruto walked out of the shower room in loose black pants and long sleeve shirt, drying his hair vigorously. "What're you guys talking about," he asked already knowing who was in the room with his teammate. "So what's up?"

"You presence is requested," Sparrow said.

"Ah," the blond said. He put on a pair of clean shoes, tossed the towel onto the back of a chair and walked up to the ANBU. "I'm going to assume that I don't need weapons to go to a meeting, right?"

"Idiot," Risa said, walking up to him and tugging his hair into a small tail at the back of his neck. "You never travel without weapons." She added two long hairpins that were actually fancy senbon needles.

He caught the pair of gloves that were thrown to him by his black haired teammate and put them on. "That'll do," he told them. "I know who's calling for me."

Naruto left the room, as Risa asked, "Who?"

"The Hokage," Sasuke replied, as the door was shut.

"Smart team," Sparrow said.

"Heh," Naruto said. "Don't I know it!"

The Hokage watched the blond appear with his two ANBU escort. He thought about sending them away, but then felt that they should be here for this. "The locations have been investigated," the old man said. "I'd like to know how you found out about them."

Naruto looked at the old man, understanding that he was old, because some things he just wasn't seeing anymore. "The decrease in the number of street people," the blond told him. "They tell me things from time to time and some were missing their friends."

"How did you suspect Kabuto?"

"I saw him," Naruto said. "I was testing a few of the cloth patch things for Akiko. I was dressed and Henged as a starved waif in the streets, but I was hidden from him. I watched as he approached several people and offered them free medical services. They were never seen from again."

"The locations," the old man asked.

"I followed from a large distance," Naruto said. "I even explored one of the buildings, when I knew he'd be away. He's got a routine, so I knew that I'd be safe."

"I see," the Hokage said. He looked at the blond boy and noted the sincerity of his answers. "You didn't mention it to anyone because…"

"Who'd believe me," Naruto looked up at the man. "I'm a Genin now, but I was a prankster. Who'd have believed me and not think that I was doing this only to stir up trouble?"

"The mind of a prankster is that of a strategist," Sarutobi told him. "However you are unfortunately right and it is true. Even I would not have believed you and the street people would not have been believed either. I did not see this coming to my village." He pulled out a mission scroll from his sleeve. He'd just written it up.

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the sight of it and then he stood at attention, looking into the old man's serious eyes. "If that's an order to kill Kabuto, you should be aware that his body is strange and may prove to be difficult to destroy," the blond said. "Any injuries that I've seen him with, including the recent Sound attack at the beginning of the exam have been completely healed."

"How do you know that," Bear asked.

"He didn't have any difficulties in walking to the second phase of the exam," Naruto said. "There was no twitch, twinge or limp, which he'd made sure to start out with when we left the exam room. No one loses a limp that fast."

"You would," Sparrow said.

"I'm different," Naruto said. He turned to the old man and asked, "Your orders Hokage?"

"Depending on the number of Genin that show up to the Tower," the old man said. "We may or may not be holding a preliminary battle. If any choose to forfeit or leave at that point, they may do so. Not Kabuto! If he chooses to leave the preliminary battle, all the Jounin and ANBU will get everyone out of the way and you're to kill him." He held out the scroll. "By any means necessary!"

Naruto stepped forward, held the scroll, before taking it completely and asked, "So can he come out to play?"

"Yes," the Hokage said. "If you have…"

"One request," Naruto said, taking the scroll and tucking the scroll up his sleeve. "If there are preliminaries, I'll have one request after they are done, will you permit it?"

"Anything," the Hokage told the boy. The blond bowed and left the room with Bear following him to ensure that he didn't engage in battle within the Tower's confines.

"He's different," Sparrow said. "When he's with his teammates…"

"He's a boy," the Hokage said. "When he's tasked as a soldier…we'll just have to see how that turns out."

"Will he graduate," Sparrow asked.

"He's already graduated," the Hokage said. "That's a mission for a '_Special_' Chunin and from everything that I've been told, he's lead his team and the rest of the Genins to up to this point by a fine speech that even impressed Ibiki. I'm just letting him fight to display his abilities, as there is still some mystery there to be revealed."

"Understood," Sparrow said with a chuckle and knew not to reveal anything that had been discussed after the boy had left.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Naruto was up in the bed reading the scroll that he'd been assigned. '_B-Rank mission,_' he thought. '_This will expose a few more of my skills then I'm ready for, but at least Kurama will be able to have some fun._'

(…_What was that?…_) The Demon Fox asked, perking up having heard that thought. (…_What are you planning?_…)

(…_I'm planning to let you come forward to play_…) Naruto told him and then he allowed the fox access to one of his past memories about Kabuto and why it would be difficult to kill him. (…_I've orders to do everything in my power to take him down, that includes using you_…)

(…_Well it might be fun before it's too late to do much more_…) The fox said. (…_Are you going to offer me a place in the summon scroll_?…)

(…_I was planning on it, pending a bit more research into that organization I've been telling you about_…) The blond said. (…_I need to know that if they try to perform an extraction spell it won't pull you out of the contract scroll_…)

(…_I don't see why it would, the scrolls are other dimensional, whereas you are in the present and I'm in the present here with you_…) The fox told him. (…_There's no rush. I'd like to see more of my kin show up to be placed within it…_)

(…_Why_…)

(…_Because for some strange reason you care about them and that matters to me…_) The fox said. (…_Now get some sleep and hide that mission from your teammates, unless you want them finding out about it…_)

(…_Right, 'night…_) Naruto told him before withdrawing from his meditative conversation, to find that both his teammates were looking at the scroll with the rank level marked on the outside of it. "Um guys," he said. "It's not a team mission."

"Che," Sasuke noised. "We kind of figured that one out. Can you tell us about it?"

"Remember what we discussed at the entrance of the Tower," the blond told them.

Risa gasped and looked at the scroll like it was going to stand up and bite her. "It's a '_special_' mission?"

Sasuke looked at the blond and then knew what had the boy concerned, as he was looking at them for their reactions. The Uchiha then did something that he'd never done before. He bopped the blond on his head just like the blond did to his little '_minions_'. "Baka," he said. "We're not going to think less of you for doing what you've been ordered to do. I just hope that the day I'm ordered to do such a thing I'll be able to carry it out well."

"You do know that you and everyone else will be witnessing this," Naruto told them. "Don't you?"

"It's taking place here," Risa asked. She paused and then hugged the blond. "You're going to be the Hokage of Konoha one day, so you have to be able to do this. So what if they're going to witness this part of you so soon. They have to know that orders like this will come to them too, in time."

"I don't want them to be afraid of me," Naruto confessed.

"Dobe," Sasuke said. "It doesn't matter if some of them are afraid. They'll have to understand the true strength it takes to follow such orders, if not during this exam, then maybe after they've had enough time and lived through a few difficult missions. Almost makes me wish that it was me, but then again, I think that I'd rather follow you for a bit longer to see what else I can learn."

"Huh," Naruto said. "What are you talking about? I didn't do that much."

"Chakra control," Sasuke said. "Summons…"

"Taijutsu, Kenjutsu," Risa continued. "There's a lot more, should we continue to list them…"

"Not unless you've disabled the electronic monitoring system," Naruto told them.

"Of course we did," Risa said. "A couple of flicks do the trick." She showed them her fingertips with an electrical current dzinging from them.

"But you still don't have to list anything," Naruto said. "I'm just doing what I can to become the best for my precious people."

"We know," Sasuke said. "You do your best and we'll do ours. We've earned the right to display our skills too, so no holding back."

"Right," Risa said. "Tomorrow we rest and the next day we show them what we're made of."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

One hundred and twenty hours after the start of the second phase of the exam, twenty-one Genins faced a panel of mixed Chunin and Jounin Ranks, including the venerable Hokage at the front. The students were lined up in rows of three by teams. One Konoha team was actually standing at '_parade rest_' while they others were in loose formations, waiting to hear from the second Chief Examiner.

"Congratulations to you all," Anko said. Her voice amplified by the microphone she was wearing. "You've all passed the second exam."

Choji's only thoughts were, '_I'm famished_.'

'_Sasuke's team made it, yay,_' Ino thought.

Shikamaru looked around and thought, '_Still too many competitors. What a pain!_'

Meanwhile on the platform (…ii…), one of the Jounin sensei's said, "Your students made an impressive showing! I wonder how much of it was dumb luck…" Maito Gai was saying to Kakashi. "…Not that it matters. My team is bound to throw them out in the next round. At the next level, it will be all about their abilities or lack thereof." He paused and then continued, "Ah, well something being young is about learning to deal with heartbreak, eh, Kakashi?"

"Huh," Kakashi turned to him, not having paid attention to the man, because he was concentrating on his team and how well the looked. Those that had arrived early, had had an opportunity to clean up, but those that had arrived on the last day did not. "I'm sorry," he said turning to look at the man. "Did you say something?"

'_Heh…good one,_' Gai thought with a clenched fist. '_As annoying as ever Kakashi… You always did try to get under my skin with your aloof act._'

Tenten was looking up there and then thought, '_Wow, so that's Master Gai's archrival…Man, he beats Master Gai hands down in the looks department._'

'_None of the other teachers are as cool as master Gai,_' Lee thought with a clenched fist of his own. '_He's the man_.'

Neji looked around and thought. '_Now only the real players are left. Hmph, even Uchiha Sasuke made it, eh? I wonder what it'll be like to fight him. He doesn't even have his Sharingan._'

Risa looked around discretely and thought, '_I don't like this._'

"Something's up," Sasuke muttered to his team. "It's like they didn't expect this many to come through."

The old man, looked at all of them and thought, '_It's astonishing that so many of them survived and even more astounding that the majority of them were culled from the ranks of the most raw recruits!_'

"No wonder their instructors vied for the right to recommend them for this competition…" He mumbled looking back at the Jounin.

Anko then told everyone, "Lord Hokage, himself will explain the third exam. Listen up and take every word he says to heart!" She turned to the old man, saying, "They're all yours, my lord."

"The third examination is about to commence, but before I go into specifics of how it will be conducted let me make one thing perfectly clear!" He paused to see how the Genins were going to take the news. "It pertains to the underlying purpose of the exam…Why do you suppose an examination of this nature is being jointly conducted by the nations of our mutual acquaintance?"

'_Some are notably confused, but not Team Seventeen,_' the old man thought. He just continued on with his speech. "It is, '_To promote friendship among allied nations and raise the level and standards in the art of the Shinobi…'_ Be very clear about what those fine-sounding phrases actually mean! This series of so-called examinations is in fact…"

Even the Jounins could sense the direction of the thoughts of the children below…'…s_o called?…_'

"A war-in-miniature between all of our allied lands," the old man said seriously. "If you were to study our recent history and consult a map…It would swiftly become apparent that our alliance is, in fact a temporary and mutually beneficial agreement between a group of geographically contiguous lands, whose pre-existence was one of continual strife…Constantly fighting with one another openly and in secret, for power and the control of resources that were perpetually depleted almost to exhaustion in the struggle…until a better way was devised…The way of the Chunin Journeyman selection exam."

The younger Genins or the Rookies looked at one another wondering if they were the only ones that were confused. However a couple of the teams did not move or look around. It was like they'd heard it all before, including one of the supposedly Rookie teams, Team Seventeen.

"The exam serves as an arena, wherein, for the honour of their respective homelands, young Shinobi may fight, to the death if need be!" The Hokage looked at all of them and continued the explanation that Naruto had told his teammates the day they arrived in the tower.

Dignitaries will come to witness the exam. Resources that a nation gets will be based on who's Shinobi was successful at this mini-war. Who showed the most potential and who failed miserably, would decide which country would gain the commissions for agents or lose the respect of the others?

"The strength of a country is derived from the strength of its village and the village draws strength from the Shinobi who live there," he told them. "The greatest strength of those Shinobi only emerges in the midst of a desperate life and death battle!"

One of the Konoha Genin asked, "But you've always emphasized the concept of '_friendship_'…Why?"

"Though my meaning is subtle, I chose my words with care," Sarutobi explained. "To preserve the balance of power at the risk of lives…is the essence of friendship in the world of Shinobi. Let me reiterate before the third exam begins…You are taking no ordinary test. You risk not only your own futures and your dreams, but the dignity and prestige of your home village as well."

"Whatever," Gaara said. He was bored with the talk and explanation. "Could you wrap up the philosophical talk and get down the life-and-death stuff any time soon?"

"Hmph!" The Hokage then said, "So, you insist I explain the third exam?"

A Chunin appeared in between the Genins and the platform. "Forgive my interruption, Lord Hokage, but if you don't mind handing the rest of the proceedings over to me, Gekko Hayate, proctor of the third exam."

"Go ahead," the old man told him.

"Good to meet you everyone," the Chunin said. "I'm Hayate and um…I'm sorry to say this, but we must have some preliminaries to take care of before the main exam."

"Preliminaries," Shikamaru asked, tired of standing. "Like what?"

"We have to reduce the number of applicants who'll proceed to the third exam," Hayate told them. "As mentioned there'll be a number of honoured guests who will be observing you during the third exam, so we _must_ make the exam intense, tight and fast-moving."

The Proctor paused and then said, "So, now that you know something of what it's really all about, anyone who doesn't feel up to the challenge, either physically or mentally, can walk away. Decide soon because the preliminaries will start now."

Naruto waited and watched to see what Kabuto would do. It was at this point in his past life, that something had made the man back out, but this time it looked like no one was going do anything.

'_Interesting, Kabuto is staying in,_' the blond Jinchuriki thought. '_It looks like my mission is still a go…_'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**

(…i…) See fave web site - www dot leafninja dot com/ mission dot php (change the dots and remove the spaces)

(…ii…) Vol. 8, beginning pg 16 – conversations as always will be used as filler to this story. If it gets to be too much let me know and I'll attempt to tone it down.


	26. Chapter 26

**CH 26**

**d) Chunin – Phase III – "Preliminaries", pt 1**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Gekko Hayate was surprised that no one backed out at this point of the exam. Usually one or two stepped away. "Well then," he said. "We'll now begin the preliminaries, which will consist of individual combat matches, as though this were part of a tournament."

He looked at them and coughed, saying, "This is a no-holds-barred combat. Each pair of combatants will fight until one of them is dead, unconscious or admits defeat. As soon as you sense that your opponent is overpowering you, immediately concede your loss, if you value your life… Uhhh, since we don't want a total bloodbath on our hands, there may be cases where we will ascertain that there is an undisputed winner and step in to end the match." He paused and then said, "But don't count on that. Oh, since there are an uneven number of participants one of you may just get a '_Bye_' or one of you will have to fight twice, we'll see."

"From here on your fate is held in," Hayate paused until the device was revealed. "This electronic scoreboard and at the start of every round, we will display the names of the two combatants competing in that match, so…ummm…not to hurry you all to the slaughter, but let's begin. We'll announce the first two names." (…i…)

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

UCHIHA SASUKE (Konoha) vs AKADO YAROI (Konoha, Kabuto's teammate)

'_Naruto told us that Kabuto is a spy or traitor,_' Sasuke said. He looked to Naruto for guidance against this one. They both knew that Kabuto's third was their old teammate, but they didn't know the circumstances under which she became a part of that team.

The black haired boy then felt the signal coming onto his palm. The Team had agreed that they'd still wear the Fujin messaging gloves in case they needed team advice. This time he was getting instructions. '_Don't let him get close to you or let him touch you,_' Naruto told him, as the Genins were being moved to the observation deck. '_Use you're swords or bombs, Seal your chakra if you can from internal and external harm, do not even use elements, this man doesn't feel right._'

Hayate then looked at the two and asked, "Akado Yoroi, Uchiha Sasuke, you two have been selected to compete in the first bout, any objections?"

'_Kill?_' Sasuke asked, knowing that it would disturb Risa, but he had to know.

'_This is your battle, you decide,_' Naruto said.

'_If you were Hokage, would you order me to kill this man,_' Sasuke looked at up his teammate.

Naruto nodded once and then let the decision belong to his teammate. Risa noticed the answer and pursed her lips.

Sasuke looked at the man and knew that there was something wrong with him. He only said, "I'm good."

"No objections," Yoroi said.

"All right," Hayate said. "Please begin."

Yoroi then said, "Shall I start?"

"Go for it," Sasuke said.

He slipped a hand into two of his hip pouches. He pulled out a scroll, crouched to the floor and used what little chakra he needed to release his swords from inside it, grabbed them. He tossed a couple of capsule bombs, guaranteed for a fiery explosion and shrapnel projectiles with his other hand. Then quickly put a three by three inch square on his left arm and activated the Seal, blocking his own chakra from internal and external influences.

During which Yoroi did a Jutsu and pulled out shuriken. He tossed them at the crouched boy, not really paying attention and was surprised by the burning force and stings that he felt from the bombs.

They were small and didn't hit the Proctor who was smart enough to leap away.

Yoroi quickly tossed some more shuriken this following them, intending to pound the boy with a chakra draining punch. The boy was down on the ground, liked he'd tripped.

Sasuke tossed his scabbards and storage scroll behind him. He played the Rookie and pretended to fall, hiding the blades of his weapons behind him.

Yoroi landed with an open legged crouched, his punched just missed because of the boy's quickstep to the side. His fist only crushed the stone floor not the head he'd been aiming for.

Sasuke used his shorter Wakizashi blade and cut the man's arm at the elbow, while doing an upward stroke with the Katana blade piercing the man through the shoulder of his other arm. The moves were quickly done and hadn't required any chakra enhancement for them.

Like the missing ninja, Zabuza, had taught him, quick strike and move away, which he did as his opponent tried to kick him. However he dropped another bomb under the guy with a very short fuse and backed away quickly, signalling the Proctor to do the same.

This time the bomb blew up in the guy's face with a burning force, no shrapnel this time, but it wasn't needed. This one was a bomb within a bomb. The first part knocked the man out, but the second lodged in the man's clothing and there were flames from the first part.

"Stay back," Sasuke told the Proctor. "There's a secondary…"

Hayate quickly moved away and the body exploded from the bomb that had been lodge in the clothing. There weren't that many body parts flying around, but it was unmistakeable that the man was dead.

The black haired boy looked at the mess he'd made and swallowed hard, clenching his teeth. He wasn't proud of this. There is no honour or glory for a nation in doing something like this. He looked to his blond teammate who nodded to him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to access his chakra until that Seal on his arm was removed.

He wiped his blades clean and then walked over to where their scabbards had been tossed. He sheathed them and then tucked them into their holding places that were a part of the over suit he'd had made by Akiko.

Kasumi flew down and lending what comfort she could. She knew that this was his first real kill.

Hayate was somewhat shocked as were many in the gallery. However the Hokage had noted the exchange between the teammates. "Well," the Proctor said. "Uchiha Sasuke is the champion of the first battle and advances past the preliminaries to the next level."

Sasuke walked up to the observation gallery amid the stares of his fellow Rookies and the others that were there, older than him. "There was something wrong with his hands," he said. "They had a glow to them, so I couldn't let them touch me."

Naruto walked up to him, put his hand on the Seal and released it from the boy's arm. "This was useful?"

"Yes," the black haired boy was still looking at him and asked him through the Fujin Gloves. '_Was he a bad man?_'

'_If I was Hokage and gave an order like that…You wouldn't need a reason or an explanation to carry out the order, as long as you trusted your Hokage to know it was the right decision or action to take,_' Naruto explained to both of his teammates. He was looking at them both and then said, "Yes."

The others around were confused by the exchange, but the blond's two teammates knew that this might be the only time that they'd ever be told that a man was bad or evil. It'd probably helped to know how bad a person is before hunting them done and killing was required, but they both knew that a mission or an order from a superior wouldn't require an explanation.

Sasuke nodded to Naruto and said, "Understood."

"Yes," Risa said.

Then they looked at the scoreboard for the next opponents.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

ZAKU ABUMI (Sound) vs ABURAME SHINO (Konoha)

Zaku one of the Sound Team, asked, "Who's that loser?"

"I hope Shino's up to this," Hinata said, looking down at her teammate.

"He's pretty tough," Kiba said. "Out of all the people here, he's the only one that I wouldn't want to go up against."

Hayate looked at the two combatants and said, "You may begin."

Shino told his opponent, "If you go though with this you'll be so badly hurt that you'll never be the same. Walk away, while you can."

"Hah," Zaku said. "There's no way that I can lose." He used his techniques to strike and attack. He began with Taijutsu and the used his air or sound technique. That's when he noticed the bugs. They were coming out of the guys wound and there was a creepy skittering sound behind him.

"Do you like my little friends? They're called Kikaichu Parasitic Destruction Beetles," Shino told him. "The attack in swarms and devour the chakra of their prey. There's no way you'd survive an onslaught of this magnitude…so if you value your life…you'd better surrender, it's your only way out."

"Who do you think you're talking to," Zaku said. He extended both his arms to do a simultaneous attack. He forced his chakra into action and arms ruptured. One fell completely and the other was barely staying together. "WHAT ON EARTH?" He screamed.

Shino was behind him and he said, "Just now, while I distracted you with all that helpful advice, my little friends were making their quiet way to key points in your body…creeping down the tunnels you use to blast that gale wind through."

Zaku look at him in anger, saying, "YOU….!"

Shino struck him in the face with a hit powerful enough to knock him out.

Hayate looked at the down boy and thought, '_This exam is turning into a bloody mess of body parts._' He then said out loud, "He's finished, winner Aburame Shino."

The boy walked up the observation deck to join his awaiting teammates.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

KANKURO (Suna) vs DOSU KINUTA (Sound)

Dosu hopped down to the main from the viewing gallery and why he had to fight the one guy in the room wearing makeup. It was clownish and creepy to him. However he was confident in his sound moves.

Kankuro leapt out of the way and still was walking around fine. He'd been able to land a couple of hits confusing his opponent by the fact that he hadn't been at all affected by the sound waves. Taijutsu was being used and everyone that had fought the Sound Ninja wondered how it was being done.

"Either's he's Sealed his ears," Naruto said.

Risa shook her head. "That person is not alive. That's what Akoba is telling me."

"The doll," Sasuke said. When everyone looked at him, he shrugged and replied, "Don't you remember during the first exam Ibiki asked him if he had fun with his doll, when the guy had needed to go to the bathroom?"

"HOW…" Dosu said from his downed position. "IT'S NOT POSSIBLE!"

Kankuro came out of the wrapping, keeping his ears covered and said, "It is possible. Finish him Crow."

He manipulated the puppet to knock his opponent unconscious. He then looked at the Proctor waiting for the man to tell him that he'd won before leaving the area.

"Winner Kankuro of Suna," Hayate said.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

HARUNO SAKURA (Konoha) vs YAMANAKA INO (Konoha)

Hayate called out then next combatants.

"What!" Ino exclaimed. "Where is old billboard brow? She wasn't even at the written exam, I refuse to believe she made passed the forest."

Down on the main floor was a figure dressed similarly to Kabuto and Yoroi. The figure was small and then they removed the mask that they had been wearing the entire time of the exam, up until this point. The masked tossed away, but there was no mistaking that pink hair.

"Hello Ino-pig," Sakura said. "Why don't you come down here and see if I could have made it through the forest or not?" She held up her fists in the first stance for a Taijutsu attack.

Ino walked down the stairs. She wasn't about to cause injury to herself, by jumping down, just to fight the pink haired Kunoichi. "All right," the white blond girl said. "I'm here, but just so you know there no way that Sasuke would fall for a fashion blind idiot."

"You think he'd fall for someone simpering on his arms without a brain in her head," Sakura told the other girl. "Still this is a fight that I never saw coming."

Naruto snickered and turned to the black haired boy saying, "Must be nice to be popular."

"Can it Blondie," Sasuke told the still snickering boy. He turned his back on the girls' goo-goo love sick eyes that were both turned in his direction. He moved away from their visual line of sight and sat down. "They need to concentrate on their fight without distractions right? I'd rather not be stared at like that because it's downright disturbing."

"Point," Naruto said looking down at battle.

Sakura was doing well, but they both deflated a little because they could no longer see the black haired boy of their dreams. Ino did something a little dramatic by cutting her hair, but she had a plan that even surprised her always-has-a-plan teammate.

It didn't matter in the end because both girls fought to a double knock out and both failed to pass this stage of the exam.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

INUZUKA KIBA **(Konoha)** vs INUZUKA RISA **(Konoha)**

"Next up," Hayate said. "Inuzuka Kiba versus Inuzuka Risa." He looked and saw to slightly similar looking people coming down opposite sides of the viewing gallery. "Huh, brother and sister?"

"Cousins," they both said at the same time.

Kiba looked at the girl and said, "So 'Cous, you wanna admit defeat now so you don't get embarrassed."

"You want me to pull out the baby pictures of you running around naked with a bunch of puppies in Auntie's back yard or are you gonna shut your yap?" Risa said, adjusting her gloves. She checked pouches by feel knowing what they each contained. "I'm ready," she said to the Proctor. 

"Keep your hair on," Kiba said. He looked at his dog and said, "I don't think this is going to be easy." His cousin looked at him with a nearly identical toothy grin and took a stance that mimicked Sakura's from a moment ago.

"All right then," Hayate said. "Begin!"

Risa just stood there looking at her cousin knowing just what he was going to do.

"Ninja Art of Beast Mimicry!" He said crouching low to the ground. "Shikyaku no Jutsu! Down on all fours technique."

"Idiot," she said and whispered softly. "Earth Style: Immoveable Wall." He was running at her, but her fist hit the ground and a six-foot wide, four-foot tall wall appeared in time for him to crash into it, hard!

No one saw that one coming except maybe the members of Team Seventeen. "Atta girl Risa," Naruto said from the rails. "You go for it!"

She then used a chakra infused punch to crack the wall quickly and punch her loud-mouthed, over bearing cousin. '_Who cares if he's going to be the Head of the Clan one day,_' she thought. '_I'm going to be a Chunin soon and there is no way that this brat is going to stop me._'

The other thing she had in her favour was the fact that she was female and for some reason beating him in this fashion, allowed him to see his order in her pack and it wasn't yet as an equal. "All right cousin," he said, staying down on all fours. "I, Inuzuka Kiba withdraw from this match, but don't think you're keeping that position for long."

"Rats," Risa said and Akoba yipped that he'd been looking forward to the specialized bombs to use against his beast mimicry Jutsu. "I was looking forward to using those too." She pulled her pup out of her hood and everyone noted that the pup's head was wrapped in a silk cloth that covered his nose. "We'll take these off slowly and find a way to perfect the delivery some other time."

Then she paused to look at the Proctor. "Hayate-sensei?"

"I'm just curious about why you'd cover your dog's nose in such a way," the man said. "Doesn't that render his sense of sme…"

"Hi…mi…tsu," Risa told him with finger shush and a wink. The she look pointedly at her cousin's crouched position and then back at the Proctor with a raised eyebrow.

Hayate coughed and said, "Winner Inuzuka Risa."

"Way to go Risa," Sasuke shouted down at her, surprising nearly everyone up on the gallery. He shrugged off the speculation and didn't care what they thought, because the girl was his teammate. It was only right that he cheered for her.

Naruto was beside, jumping up and down laughing, from his joy. "Yes," he shouted. "You did it!"

Risa just grinned up at her teammates and waved.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

NARA SHIKAMARU (Konoha) vs KIN TSUCHI (Sound)

Shikamaru looked at the electronic board and scowled. "Me, eh?" He ambled slowly down the stairs and said, "This is such a nuisance and how embarrassing being expected to fight a girl…"

"If that's the way you feel, I'll put you out of your misery quickly!" She told him.

'_Even though I learned about the strengths of the Sound ninja when we battled during the second exam, I don't have a clue about what's this one's specialty is,_' Shikamaru thought. '_On the other hand, she's had a good opportunity to observe me in action. But I wonder…_"

Hayate looked at the two Genin and then said, "Begin."

'_Well, this is all I've got,_' Shikamaru thought. "Ninja Art: Kagemane no Jutsu."

Sasuke watched the Jutsu through his active Sharingan. He was learning quite a few things at this exam and a few that he knew he'd never use. '_Art of Beast Mimicry_,' he thought. '_No thanks! I know about the foul, sulfur and old egg scented bombs that Risa was packing, which was the only reason she covered her pup's nose._'

"Just a one trick pony," the girl from Sound taunted. "How lame!" She dodged his extended shadow and said, "All I've go to do is keep an eye on your shadow's movements…this'll be a piece of cake."

He dodged the two senbon needles that chinged with bells attached at the end. He looked behind him and then looked at the girl. "What a tired old trick! I suppose next you'll be flinging your needles in two groupings with and without bells to mislead me into thinking I'm safe once I've dodged the ones I can hear…until the silent ones perforate me, right?!"

"Chatty aren't you," she said lifting her arm up.

Shikamaru thought, '_All I have to do is evade the silent, phantom needles, once I've mastered the pattern, if I'm careful I can do it._'

A noise distracted him and it came from behind him, '_What?_' He looked and then thought, '_Thread? Aw, crud…! She's pulling the strings to ring the bells…! She's mocking me!_'

"Too late," she said launching her senbon needled in his direction. Two of which actually hit him. "Once I mastered how to avoid your shadow, you never stood a chance! Now for the coup de grace!" She held up three senbon needles in her, which she immediately dropped for some reason.

She shocked expression told everyone what she was thinking, '_I…can't …move...!_'

"Okay," Shikamaru stood up tall. "Now it's time to deploy my '_Shadow Possession Technique_'."

"How," She yelled. "Your shadow is nowhere in sight."

He tilted his head down and said, "You still don't get it do you?"

"No way," she exclaimed in realization that she'd been tricked.

"Yes you idiot," he told her. "Such delicate little threads, so high up…there's no way they could cast shadows! Whereas I can make my shadow as big as I wish… or as small, within limits" He lifted his hand and pointed at her, making her mimic his stance and point back at him. He put his hand in his shuriken pouch and pulled one out, making her do the same.

"DON'T BE AN IDIOT,' she yelled in a panicking tone. "While we're locked into this mimicry any injury done to me will hurt you, too!"

"Tell me something I don't know," Shikamaru said, getting them into a mimicked position for throwing.

"You wouldn't," she said, but he did.

He threw the star and held fast in that position for a head-to-head shuriken attack. He could see her struggles to dodge and when the star spun really close him leaned backwards quickly, doubling over onto his hands, while his opponent…

Well, she fully knocked herself out mirroring his move because she was standing too close to the wall.

"The winner is Nara Shikamaru," Hayate said.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

HYUGA NEJI (Konoha) vs HYUGA HINATA (Konoha)

The next pair of combatants had just as must speculation about its outcome due to the fact that they were family, like the Inuzukas prior battle. Tokuma-sensei wasn't the only sensei to groan when the match up occurred and he knew the main reason why such a match up should never take place.

"This is not good," Tokuma-sensei muttered.

"Why not," Risa asked.

"There's been strain between the Central and Cadet branches of the Hyuga Clan for some time," he told them. "Relations aren't exactly friendly and Neji seems to feel it more. He is from the Cadet branch whereas Hinata is from the main family branch, but in truth they are first cousins as their fathers were twin brothers."

"Weird," Naruto said. "I don't understand the need to separate family like that, even if it's to maintain bloodlines."

"Naruto?" Tokuma-sensei questioned. "How…"

"Hm," the blond turned to look at them. "That's what it sounds like to me. All this talk about main branch, cadet branch, and whatever else goes on. It sounds like an animal breeding program to me and since I don't have family, it's just weird to me to separate everything like that."

"Sometimes Dobe you say the funniest things," Sasuke told him. "Of course you wouldn't understand, but sometimes it's best to track who's related to whom and by what degree to prevent too much inbreeding."

"See," Naruto said with a pointing finger. "I told you it sounds like some kind of animal breeding program." Everyone around him chuckled as the Proctor told the two Hyugas that they could begin their fight.

Neji looked at his cousin, one he'd come to dislike for certain reasons, however instead he chose another method to bring her down. "Before we begin there's something I have to point out, Lady Hinata," he told her. "You're not cut out to be a Shinobi. Withdraw from the match."

Hinata looked at him and couldn't say a word at the moment, "…!"

"You're all sweetness, light and a peacemaker, not a troublemaker," Neji told her. "You're easily led, not a leader where you have to have self-confidence. You've got a world-class inferiority complex. So I know you'd be more comfortable and content staying at the Genin Rank."

The way he was talking and looking at the girl, made several people in the observation deck angry, but the foolish boy just plowed on. "Applicants for the higher-level Chunin selection exam must compete as a trio and you couldn't bear to let your teammates down, but the truth is that your participation has been reluctant from the start, hasn't it?"

"N..no… you're wrong!…I…," Hinata took a breath and continued. "I really wanted to change that about myself. So, of my own volition…"

"Lady Hinata," Neji interrupted her. "You're the sheltered little baby of the main branch, aren't you? A Leopard doesn't change its spots. A failure always fails. A weak personality won't become strong. It's precisely because of the unchanging nature of humankind that differences between people are born…It's why we've coined terms like '_Elite_' and '_Failure_'. Whatever you're classed at is as unchangeable as the fact that I'm of the cadet branch and you're of the main branch."

"No," Hinata said. "I really want to…"

"My eyes can't be deceived," Neji then activated his Byakugan. "Every motion of your eyes, hands, body, all of it can't deceive me. You worry, you're fears are overwhelming, you feel the failures of your past coming and inflicting doubts in you. Because of all this you will fail, and you must be aware that you can never change yourself!"

"YES SHE CAN!" Naruto shouted down. "What did you do? Read some psychology book to feed her that utter bullshit! You can't arbitrarily decide these things about other people you fool! Show him, Hinata! Beat up this idiot!"

"Talk back to him at least," Risa shouted down. "Everything he said is wrong. Just hearing him talk like that makes me want to slap him silly. I'd never let anyone talk like that to me and I have the same fears and doubts you do. Stand up girl."

"Make a decision and see it through," Sasuke told her with a nod.

Hinata's surprise at being cheered on by her secret crush Naruto was doubly increased when his entire team was there with him, supporting her. She smiled shyly at them and thought, '_Naruto…Thank you! All of you!_'

She turned to look at her cousin with firm conviction and strength.

"So you're not going to withdraw?" Neji said. "Then I won't be responsible for what happens here."

'_I'll never go back on my word_,' the girl thought. '_That's my Shinobi way too!_'

Hinata activated her Byakugan and said, "Neji, Onii-san…let's fight!"

Both their fighting stances were the same. They both had their Kekkei Genkai activated.

"Damn them," Tokuma-sensei said watching the fight take place.

For a moment it looked like the girl was going to succeed. However a series successive punches later and then Hinata coughed up blood. Neji had her arm, pushed up her sleeve and revealed finger-tip bruising. She was surprised and said, "It can't be…you mean you… from the very beginning…?"

"That's right," Neji said. "Withdraw now."

"No," Hinata said. She continued to press and he continued to hit in places that made her cough up more blood. She was smiling full of confidence, but holding onto her side.

The Proctor looked on knowing who won, but sometimes things needed to be said.

"You're wrong about everything cousin," she told him. "I can see it now…that even more than me…it is you who is torn and suffering…caught between the destinies of the main branch and the cadet branch of our clan."

Tokuma-sensei sighed and told them, "Someone finally saw it and told him."

Neji growled and ran at her intending to attack her to finish her off.

Hayate called out, "NEJI, THE MATCH IS ALREADY OVER!"

The boy was stopped by the Proctor and some of the senseis. His master, Maito Gai said, "Enough Neji! Before this began you swore that you wouldn't drag the issues you have with your family's main branch into this."

"Well," Neji said. "Why is it that the other Jounin are getting involved? Special protection for the main branch, eh?"

Hinata's heart throbbed and she coughed up more, collapsing to the ground.

Naruto jumped down and ran to her. "Hinata," the blond told her just before she lost consciousness. "You did good!"

Neji then started talking to him, "Hey you, mister failure! Let me tell you a couple of words of advice. A true Shinobi warrior would have too much class to make a spectacle of himself by cheering during a serious match." He paused and then continued, "One more thing, you may as well accept who you are, once a failure, always a failure."

"Moron," Sasuke said to the Hyuga. "How is he a failure? He became Genin the same time you did!"

"That's right," Risa said. "Still have a problem with that blind spot of yours? Have you figured out how to detect someone when they become your hair tie?"

Naruto was still kneeling by the girl. His goggles were down and he'd activated his GYO technique, which surprisingly allowed him to sort of see the problems that the girl was having. "Forgive my impertinence," he said as he put his hand inside her shirt and used the REN technique to repair a couple of the more immediate dangers. He needed to hide this ability for now and the best action was to hide his hands. "MEDICS, what the hell are you doing standing around? Get your lazy asses over here and get her on a stretcher, while I have her stable!"

"Yes sir," they shouted and obeyed without much thought other than to get to that girl and take over from whatever that blood boy was doing. They had her on a stretcher, as they monitored her vitals they realized that the boy was doing something, but nothing that they could see to keep her stable.

"You guys take over now," Naruto said. Slowly he released the REN from his hands. The medics quickly stabilized with their methods and ran out of the room. He ran his hands through the blood that the girl had coughed up. He stood up, made a fist holding it out in front of him, pointed at Neji and said, "I vow to win!"

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

TBC…

(…i…) Order of the fights will not occur in the same order as the manga or animé for the most part – some of the battles will be the same and some conversations will be the same too – take from Vol. 8 - 11


	27. Chapter 27

**CH 27**

**e) Chunin – Phase III – "Preliminaries", pt 2**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

TEMARI (Suna) vs TENTEN (Konoha)

Despite all preparation that could ever be made to get to this stage, there are times when experience counts. Well… that and a big ass fan with Wind Spell that can blow your opponent away.

Tenten was severely outmatched in this one. All her weapons didn't amount to much against Temari's frustration of having to wait for her baby brother to get old enough and have the correct number of missions under his belt in order to take the Chunin exam.

The weapons were scattered all over the ground and the Konoha Genin was suspended on the tip of the Sand Genin's fan. Temari commented, "How dull! It's a shame really…"

Hayate called out the winner. "The winner of the match is Temari of Suna."

The Kunoichi wasn't pleased with not having done that much damage. She tossed the girl after the announcement.

Lee wasn't one to sit idle, especially if something happened to one of his teammates. He jumped down and caught her.

"Nice catch," Temari sneered.

"What's wrong with you?" Lee yelled at her. "That's not how you treat a worthy opponent…especially not one you've just defeated!"

"Oh, shut up," the four, pony tailed blond girl said. "Get yourself and that loser out of my way."

Lee was not happy, so he tried a reverse kick, only to have it immediately blocked by the Suna Genin.

"Hah, just as I thought," Temari said. "You're not so fast after all!"

"What," Lee said confused.

"That's enough Lee," Gai-sensei said.

Lee turned and said, "But Master Gai…"

"Temari, get back up here," Gaara said looking directly at the funny guy in a one, piece green suit. Something about that person was different and he couldn't figure it out yet. "You've already been declared the winner… How long do you intend to trifle with that homely little Prince Charming?" (…i…)

"What," Lee asked again confused because that didn't quite sound like the insult it truly was. He scowled at the red haired boy.

Gaara only stared right back.

"Lee that's enough," Gai-sensei said. Then he stood behind his one of his favourite Genins. "My dear friends from Suna…If you don't mind, I'd like to offer a word of advice…" He looked up and continued, "Be prepared. You have no idea how strong this boy really is."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

ROCK LEE (Konoha) vs GAARA (Suna)

Everyone had been waiting in the Gallery in order for the weapons to be cleared from the arena floor. Intervals like this allowed for arena clean up and for everyone to do things have toilette breaks.

Soon the next set of names posted on the electronic scoreboard appeared and didn't surprise Naruto in the least. He knew whom he was going to be fighting.

Gaara got to the arena floor in an impressive show of travel by sand.

Lee jumped down and then took a side stance holding his left arm up and waving his hand in a '_come at me_' gesture. The boy in green noticed something come at him, but he was quick enough to catch the sand cork from the Suna boy's gourd.

"Please…" Lee told his opponent, to the amusement of the Proctor. "Don't rush things."

Gaara just looked at him, with the intent to kill, but was surprised that the Konoha Genin didn't appear to be afraid of him.

"All right then," Hayate said. "Ninth battle, begin!"

Many in the observation gallery thought that Lee was weak, especially Temari, who'd blocked his kick.

"Konoha hurricane," Lee said and was shocked by being blocked by, '_SAND…?!_' He then noted the hand-like claw try to get him from behind, but he immediately leaped out of the way.

The sand manipulation was a surprise to many.

Lee tried to attack with his fists or feet, but was blocked every time. He noticed that the person he was fighting hadn't even moved a muscle. '_He's not even looking in my direction to defend,_' he thought. '_I'll break through, I know I will._'

Those in gallery had learned that the sand moved independent of Gaara's will. It was that and the fact that Gaara had never been injured in his life because the sand protected him.

It was also then that they learned that Lee had next to no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu abilities. "That's why the only moves he's been able to develop are Taijutsu," Gai-sensei said. "There aren't many ninja who can use neither Ninjutsu nor Genjutsu.

Lee saw row upon row of hands made of sand spring up to attack him. He leapt high and landed on the Shinobi hand sign monument, which was formed in the primary position for most hand signs. It was high enough out of the way to escape the sand.

Gaara was puzzled, but none of it showed on his face as he looked up at where the boy was sitting.

"Lee," Gai-sensei said. "Take them off!" Many wondered what the man was talking about.

"B..but Master Gai! You said…" Lee looked over with a respective salute. "To never do that unless I defending the lives of people who are precious to me!"

"It's all right," Gai told him with a sparkle smile and a thumb up. "I'll allow it."

The boy was partially confused, but lit up with a grin and laugh. He had a smile of determination on his face. He removed his bright orange leg warmers and revealed that he'd been wearing weights.

Gaara still looked up at the boy puzzled.

"Right," Lee stood up. "Now I can move freely." Everyone thought that the weight shouldn't have made that much of a difference.

'_Hmph, there's no way that dropping a few weights will let you keep up with Gaara's sand_,' Temari thought.

However, once dropped to the ground from that height, nearly everyone was surprised that they'd formed two deep craters at the base of the monument.

Kakashi had a hand in front of his face as though to hide his smile, even though his face was masked, "Aren't you overdoing it just a bit Gai?"

"Never forget that some traditions work," Gai told him. Then he looked at his protégé and said, "Go! Lee!"

"YES SIR," the boy said and leapt from a standing position so quickly that it was almost like he'd Kawarimi'd without replacing himself with an object. He landed slightly behind the Suna Genin and attacked again.

This time he was much faster because Gaara actually glanced behind him. The sand only just came up in time to protect the red haired boy. Gaara was shocked at the speed and from the fact that a foot had just passed through his sand protection. Next came a punch and he saw the fist, this was quickly followed by a series of punches and kicks all coming through and close enough that the Suna Genin was slightly concerned.

"It's because he had no aptitude for either Ninjutsu or Genjutsu that Lee devoted himself so exclusively to Taijutsu," Master Gai told everyone. "All his time, all his energy, all his focus…so that even, if he lacked any other kind of abilities at all…he'd still be unbeatable as a Taijutsu specialist!"

Lee moved around to Gaara's opposite side and then disappeared in a leap up. He came down with a forward scissor kick to his opponent's head and had actually managed to scratch his face.

Gaara was surprised at that. It was like nothing he'd ever felt and yet he knew that many others had.

"In terms of speed, Lee can't be surpassed," Gai-sensei told them. "I thought I gave you all fair warning…that this boy is really strong."

That one hit was enough to let Lee know that he could move faster and get more hits in. He actually grinned darkly, while his opponent scowled in a way that almost looked pouty.

Lee in a stance waiting for the boy to attack him, but then he heard, "Lee, now… explode!"

"Yes, sir," Lee replied and then leapt again over Gaara's head to a position behind him, except he didn't stay there, he jumped back to the front closer and said, "Over here…" With one solid punch he knocked the Sand Genin to the ground.

Kankuro looked and said, "This is bad…"

"What is…" Sasuke asked, keeping a Sharingan eye on the action. He was memorizing Lee's moves, but in the back of his mind he heard Naruto's voice telling him, '_The Sharingan may be great for memorizing the moves, but your body hasn't trained in the same manner to get those moves, you're going to be in a world of hurt if you try them without practice._' This had been quickly proven by the base tumbling moves that the blond boy had done, which Sasuke had noted with his Sharingan and had done immediately after he copied them. His pulled groin and leg muscles never forgave him that day. But it was a very good lesson learned.

It was then that they noticed a small shell of sand crack and fall to the ground. This had even stopped Lee by surprise, "What?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and watched whom it was that emerged. It wasn't Gaara, but a small bit of the demon personality contained within the boy. His own, inner demon, was stirred by the sight of one of the '_Lesser_' trying to appear intimidating.

Lee felt the shiver of fear because he knew that this wasn't the same opponent and yet it was. He still stood with a frown and made the '_Come and get me_,' gesture.

The sand flowed and covered Gaara and it was then explained that this was the boy's '_Sand Armour_'. An ultimate defence with nearly no weaknesses, unfortunately it was not one of the automated protections and required immense chakra to maintain.

Both opponents were now gauging each other and wondering who would do what, and Gaara was completely on defence.

Lee thought about it. '_It's an amazing defence, which makes my speed irrelevant. My only shot is to just keep pounding and punishing that outer layer of sand, but…only with…_' He looked to his master with a question, _'The Lotus_?'

Gai nodded.

Lee partially unwrapped, the white silk from his warms and let them flutter. Then he ran around the sand shelled boy, gaining speed.

"Come on…" Gaara said for the first time in this fight. "Hurry up!"

"As you wish," Lee said. He kicked up, under the chin, launching the red haired boy up. "That's not all!" He ran around again and repeatedly kicked him four times in succession. "Oww," he said softly, much to the surprise of Gaara. The arm wrappings unwound and wrapped around Gaara's body, tightly in an obscene form of mummification.

"Gotcha," Lee said, and dove them both forward to the ground. '_FORWARD LOTUS_!' Slamming down hard to the ground lifting up the large stone slabs and crushing others.

They'd forgotten one thing. The sand protects Gaara and in a quick Jutsu of switching and cloning, they watched sand shell crumbled. Behind the crouched Konoha Genin, came evil laughter, "Heh, heh, heh."

The sand moved and slithered with an ominous, '_SSHHSSHHH_,' sound. The sand whirled behind Gaara, but it was the grin and presence of '_other_,' that caused Lee to shiver. The sand rushed the down boy, pushing him against a wall. Another hit and a crater formed behind him.

Gaara looked like he was enjoying this by the gross licking of his lips with a large tongue. The sand struck and pushed, again and again and again.

The gates of Lee's body opened and Gai told everyone that, "The Lotus will Bloom twice."

This horrified Kakashi and Tokuma. Such a technique destroys the body, but in finding out that the boy had managed to open five of the eight…at such a young age, that boy had just earned the respect of everyone in the upper ranks and one Genin who already knew.

"Eight gates," Sasuke said looking at the boy.

"Chakra converges in the body at eight areas, which pool and form nodes," Tokuma told them. "They act as the regulators for chakra use."

"The Lotus technique basically forces open the nodes, changing them and allowing the user to draw strength a dozen times his level, even if it destroys his body," Kakashi continued the explanation. Yet he needed to see this too and lifted his Hitai-ate up in order to watch what happened next.

Changes that occurred in Lee were scary. He skin turned red at the opening of the third gate, but he also opened the fourth.

Lee launched himself with a speed that lifted the stones on the floor. Stone and rock debris actually rose and scattered, hitting some of the spectators. That was nothing to what Gaara felt as he was kicked in the chin again with more speed and force than before, lifting him up again.

The Suna Genin was the struck repeated with foot and fist. Those that could actually see the action thought it looked like a pinball game and others just couldn't make out the moves due to the speed at which the strikes occurred.

Gaara was surprised and shocked, '_What? My sand armour? Is peeling off?_' He looked up at the sense that something was above him. His eyes widened and he actually flinched at the sight of the boy releasing the '_Fifth_' gate.

He was hit in the stomach forcing him in a downward move. But was again visibly surprised when the boy's wrapping secured him around his middle and pulled him back up, to receive a fist and foot strike so powerful that he heard the snap of the boy's arms as he fell back down.

That last hit forced Gaara's gourd to crack and in falling it formed a softer landing than expected, however it was still painful to the red haired boy. Despite his pain, he still manipulated the sand in a grasping motion. Two hands form from the sand and with a fisted moved, catching Lee's right arm and leg, '_Sabukukyu! The Coffin of Crushing Sand_.'

Gaara sent the sand again this time intending to take the life of the one person that had actually, physically hurt him for the first time in his life. This time, he was stopped by the boy's mentor. He looked at the man looking down at him, only it wasn't from hate or fear. It was enough to snap free some painful memories that caused him to shudder.

"Why are you…" Gaara asked. "Helping him?"

"He's my lovable precious protégé," Gai told him.

The red haired youth scowled as he stood up. His sand slowly re-formed into the regular gourd at his back. He turned his back on the two strangely dressed people and said, "Forget it…"

Hayate said, "The victor is Gaara."

The medics didn't have a good prognosis for the outcome of this situation. Naruto knew better.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

YAKUSHI KABUTO (Konoha-Sound) vs UZUMAKI NARUTO (Konoha)

When Naruto saw his name on the board with Kabuto's, he knew it wasn't luck of the draw. This was the old man Hokage's doing. He sighed and then jumped down into the area and played the fool.

"All right," he yelled. "It's about time that it's my turn. All these fights made me want to be down here so bad to show every one of you what I can do!"

"Shut up Naruto," Sakura said to. "You're still a loser of the first degree." She smirked when his shoulders hunched down and his face looked completely upset at that. Everyone there thought the blond was still sweet on the girl by his actions.

Kabuto snorted and then tried to play nice guy, "Cheer up kid. I'll let you land a couple of punches to make you look good for your girl."

Naruto sniffled and said, "I don't think you should be doing anything like that. A fair fight is what I'm looking for."

Hayate coughed and asked, "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Kabuto said.

"Yes," Naruto said in a wimpy voice. "Sniffle."

"Begin," Hayate said, and suddenly he was moved to the platform, atop the monument that Lee had been on, far away from the arena by six blond heads. Squares of paper were being placed at every corner of the room by blond boys and in the centre of it. The original Naruto bit his thumb and activated the large Seal under his hand.

Naruto then jumped out of the way of Kabuto's punching attack, which had been delayed by his surprised expression at seeing about a hundred blond kids, flying about the room and placing paper patches on every dimensional surface of the room.

Kabuto couldn't figure out what was going on with that strange writing traveling up the walls like a black ink web. "What have you done?"

"Yes," Hayate said putting his hand against the Seal marks from the other side. "What have you done?"

"I've made the arena safe," Naruto said. "I mean for non-participants, Hayate-san. I didn't want you to be targeted for any reason."

"It's allowed," the Hokage said. "I've never seen anyone put up so many Seals up and activate them all at the same time, but it is allowed."

"Yes sir," Hayate said with a frown. He knew then that something was up, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Kabuto didn't know what was going on, but at the moment he didn't care. His battle blood was rising and he wanted to fight. He ran up to the blond boy and didn't even bother to keep his promise to allow hits to make the boy look good in front of his girl. He punched, jabbed, kneed and kicked with a speed that surprised the blond, but that was all that was needed.

"Come on," Kabuto yelled, getting fired up at the fact that he could keep hitting the kid and the boy kept getting back up. "I know how much you can take."

"You led some of the older kids in mobs against me four years ago," Naruto said crouching down on all fours. "Didn't you? You were their ring leader for a time, weren't you?"

"You bet it was me," Kabuto laughed evilly. "How did you guess?"

"I've never forgotten who kicked me or how they did it," Naruto said. "My question is why? I didn't know you, so why attack a kid?"

"You want to know why," Kabuto strode up to him. "It's because you're the Fox Demon. You're the one that killed all those people twelve years ago."

"I was born twelve years ago," Naruto said. "How can a bawling little baby, in need of diapers, be the one to attack the Village?"

"So maybe you're just the container of the fox," Kabuto snorted. "A Jinchuriki for the beast, but we all know if it escaped once, it can escape again."

"How right you are!" Naruto looked up and Kabuto's next hit was blocked in a grip that cracked the bone in his arm. "But you and this entire god forsaken town have forgotten one important thing!" A clawed hand swiped the Sound Spy from shoulder to hip, doing a lot of deep damage.

"What could we have forgotten," Kabuto asked, spitting up blood.

"I was under the control of someone that hates this village. It is someone that has been around since it was founded," the fox told everyone in the room. "Now you'll all have to is figure out who this person was because I cannot tell anyone anything else." He then hit the man hard in his gut, launching him to the other side of the room to splatter against the Seal.

Everyone saw Naruto's eyes turn back to his normal blue, losing the claws and teeth of the creature that had just told everyone something that had not been known before.

"He can't lie," he said to everyone. Then he turned to the spot where the man had fallen. He walked over to Kabuto to check his pulse, but he already aware that the man was alive.

"The winner…"

"No Hayate-san," Naruto said. "This match is not over. Kabuto is only pretending injury and is now healing himself using the Medical Jutsu that his father taught him."

"Heh," Kabuto coughed once and then he sat up. Everyone saw that his injuries were closed. "How could you know that?"

"You researched me, I researched you," Naruto said with a shrug. "Are you still good to go?"

"What if I choose to with…," Kabuto asked casually, but suddenly had a shocked expression on his face.

Naruto shrugged and said, "I'm afraid that once inside this caged Seal, neither you nor I can say those words."

"Then how will this match end," Kabuto asked in a growling tone, his suspicions growing.

Naruto looked down at him and told him, "Only when one of us is dead." He took something out of his pocket and tossed to his opponent. "Did you want to wear a proper Hitai-ate? I mean from the Village you truly represent."

The metal clanked on the ground at the man's feet and the man stared at the single musical note etched in the rectangular metal. "Heh, heh," Kabuto laughed. "I guess this means I don't have to hold anything back," he looked up with hard eyes and asked, "Does it?"

"I'd be insulted if you did," Naruto said with an equally dark look that no one in the gallery noticed, but the Proctor, Hayate did and so did a few of the Jounin near the Hokage. He pulled his Wakizashi blade from its sheath, having chosen only to use that one sword in order to leave his other hand free to do one handed hand signs. He was most familiar and comfortable with that blade.

Kabuto told him, "I don't need this." He kicked the headband away and then removed the Konoha metal plate from his headband revealing the fact that he was a Shinobi from the Village Hidden in Sound. "I have my own."

From then on the battle was fast, fierce and totally violent in a way that had that the Genin in the gallery were being eternally grateful that they were not the ones fighting against Kabuto. They both had elements in play, but the one that stood out and had Sakura gasp out, "That's the Hidden Mist, thingy…"

Naruto's clones had taken the waters bottles from Team Seventeen that morning. They'd been filled the night before and were now being pulled from a scroll and poured at all four corners of the room.

Team Seventeen all had collectively gasped when Naruto had tossed his sword to land near where the Hokage was and then put up one hand in the air and the other in front of him just like Zabuza had done that one time when the man had attacked them on the way to Tazuna's village. The boy's fingers sped through the hand signs that even Kabuto didn't know what to expect, but then the arena was suddenly covered in dark cloak of mist.

Sasuke still had his Sharingan activated, same with Kakashi. Whereas the Hyugas in the room had activated their Byakugan limits, in order to see what was happening in there.

The rest of the witnesses could only hear the sounds of two people hitting each other. There was also the occasional, "Fuckin' clones!" and several, "Show yourself you damn brat," coming from Kabuto's increasingly frustrated voice.

Shuriken were flying by the whizzing sounds they made. Kunai thunked into the ground periodically and the tinging sound of senbon needles falling to the ground when they missed their targets could be heard. The mist was doing its job though, hiding everything.

Naruto was closing the Chakra points in Kabuto, much like Neji did again Hinata, but this was also different because the man couldn't redirect the links like he was used to. He was effectively getting shut down and soon he wouldn't even be able to heal his wounds by using specially prepared senbon needles at all the right points.

Temari wanted to see the blood bath and had pulled out her fan to clear up the mist. "Hey kid," she called down to the arena. "Either clear up the mist or I'm gonna do it for you."

"Go ahead," Naruto yelled back at her. "I'm kind of busy here."

"Wind Style: Warm Winds," Temari said, and then brought down the fan in one sweeping move. Many people gasped because instead of one Kabuto in the area there were three dead ones and one that the blond Genin was sitting on and examining the face while inserting more senbon needles into a few more paralytic points.

"Naruto," Kakashi-sensei asked, because he felt that it was up to him to ask the question. "Why are there some many of him?"

"Cadaver scroll," Naruto said. "Bastard had a bunch of look-a-likes ready to try and fool someone, unfortunately for him the Seal can't be fooled. It won't come down until one of us is actually dead." He finished trussing up the corpse and then began to cycle through his lens to try and find the man who'd Henged into something on the floor. "He's hiding in a Henge at the moment, but I destroyed his scroll, so he can't pull out another dead body."

"What if he had more than one scroll," Sasuke asked.

"They're all destroyed too," Naruto said.

"You didn't destroy any that you carried," Risa asked. "Did you?"

"I might have," Naruto said. "But I only carried the very basics today. The Sasuke's holding all the important ones for me."

Risa looked at their teammate who nodded in confirmation that the blond had left a lot in his keeping. She sighed and then asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"Well I have a couple of things I can do," Naruto said out loud. "However considering this man's loyalties, I figured I'd just give him the same treatment that his boss received. Whatever form he's in right now he will be affected and then I can just destroy everything within the Seal."

Now that comment had Kabuto curious about what the boy knew about Orochimaru. Destroying everything was too much. He needed to fight in order to survive, but that damn brat had done something to him that he had yet to work around. He revealed himself to have been Henged into one of the senbon needles on the ground.

That's when the trap sprung. The needle that he was imitating had been in a puddle of water. Being a needle meant that he didn't realize that the density of the water was not that of water, but of the more solid stuff.

Naruto closed his fist, like Gaara sand coffin only in this case it was a water prison that he'd created. He sighed stood up, pulling the water prison with him. He walked over to his sword, put the prison on the ground and grabbed Kabuto by the hair, which the man couldn't do anything about because his limbs were controlled by the controller of the water prison.

In one swift move the man was beheaded. The boy paused and waited to see if the Seal that he'd erected would be coming down or else stay up because this happened to be another cadaver.

The Jounin, Chunin, Genin and Hokage then noticed that every corpse had also been beheaded. They waited wondering the same thing as they realized that this was perhaps the hardest of all battles in the examination. It was only the Hokage and maybe of couple of hidden ANBU that knew that this person that the boy had fought was not a Genin level Shinobi.

There was a cracking sound and the Seal markings on the ceiling, walls and floor rolled into the larger one in the middle of the arena. The large scroll in the centre then turned into a large mound of grey ash.

Naruto bowed his head and again cautiously looked at the body at his feet. "This is the one that was marked by the Fox," he said to the panel of people in front of him. "The others did not have that mark on them. I believe that he had only prepared a few fakes with only his face, so it was a good thing that he'd been marked in this way."

As a precaution, he put the Kabuto's head far from the body. He knelt before the Hokage and said, "Mission Complete."

This was exactly what the old man had wanted the other Genins to see. The ones from Suna were looking a little bit jealous because they hadn't been able to kill anyone, but the others from Konoha needed to know the strength it took to follow such an order.

Hayate stepped down and called all others that had won down from the gallery. They were all lined up, Shino, Neji, Choji (who received the Bye), Shikamaru, Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Risa, Sasuke and Naruto.

"To those of you that won your bouts and qualified for the finals of the third phase of the Chunin exam," he paused. "Congratulations!" He stepped aside in order to let the Hokage step forward.

The Hokage of Konoha looked at each of the Genin lined up. "As I mentioned earlier, you will conduct your final round of battles in front of everyone," he paused. "Each of you represents the battle strengths of your respective lands, so we want you to exhibit and fully showcase your various talents."

'_Three from Suna and seven from Konoha, this will be interesting,_' the Sandaime thought. '_I wonder which friend will fight friend? Naruto will be exempted though, as I've already prepared the papers for his new rank and only need to sign them after he hands in his mission report._'

"The true finals will commence in one month from now!" The Hokage then explained, "We call this the requisite preparation period."

"What do you mean," Neji asked.

"Well…It's a period of time that allows us to relay the result of the preliminaries to the Rulers and Shinobi Leaders of each land," he told them. "It gives us time to summon them and it also serves as a preparation period for each of you."

Kankuro was getting frustrated and asked, "What do you mean? I still don't get it."

"You must be prepared to understand your enemy and yourself," the Hokage explained. "During this period you can analyze the intelligence you have gathered on your foes during the preliminary round and use it to increase your chances of victory. Even though, up to this point, all the battles have been real battles…They were conducted on the premise that you were fighting an '_unknown_' enemy."

The Hokage looked at all the faces and wondered, just who was really going to be ready to battle in the forum presented by a stage, set up and prepared for them to display their talents, "The finals are a different story," he continued. "Some of you probably ended up exposing everything you've got in front of your rivals…and some of you may have gone up against comparatively strong opponents and found yourselves badly injured. In order to make the finals fair and just, we give you this month. Each of you must embrace the opportunity to practice hard, learn some new tricks and of course get some rest, as well."

"Now before you leave, please take one of the slips of paper from the box that Anko is holding," the Hokage said. "Except for you, Chunin Uzumaki, your skills have been sufficiently displayed and recorded. You'll receive your new rank papers when you turn in your mission report."

Naruto swallowed as the others looked at him and some of them stared in wonder. He blushed, but looked straight ahead, immediately stood at parade rest and said, "Yes sir."

The papers pulled were in the following order: 1) Choji, 2) Risa, 3) Kankuro, 4) Neji, 5) Shino, 6) Gaara, 7) Sasuke, 8) Temari and 9) Shikamaru.

Ibiki then showed them the order of the tournament. One of the first two combatants was going to be fighting twice against the number three spot and that was just the luck the draw. Neji was going to go against Shino, Gaara was to fight Sasuke and then it would be the last two Genin.

The luckiest was Choji, who had been able to study everyone and if he paid attention he'd be in a fairly good position to at least defeat one of his opponents.

"Now then, it's time for you to go plan your strategies, rest up or whatever you please," the Hokage said. "We're all finished here, unless any of you have any questions?"

"May I?" Shikumaru asked. 

"Go ahead," the Saindaime said.

"You said this is a tournament so…There's only one winner right?" The Nara asked. "Then…does that mean only one person gets to become Chunin when it's over?"

"No! That's not the case. The finals will be observed by many judges, not only me, but also, Suna's Kazekage, the Rulers and Shinobi Leaders of Countries that will be requesting missions, as well," the Hokage explained. "Based on your performance in the tournament, those judges will assign you an absolute value and all those who are deemed to have sufficient ability to be Journeyman ninja…even those who may have lost in the first round can become Chunin."

"Do you mean," Temari asked. "That it's possible for all of us to become Chunin?"

"Yes, however it is also equally possible that none of you will become Chunin!" The old man said seriously. "The advantage of fighting in more rounds in the tournament is in having a greater number of opportunities to display your talents for the judges. Does that answer your question Shikamaru?"

'_Annoying old man_,' Shikamaru thought.

"Well then, good work all," that old man told them. "You are dismissed until one month from now!"

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

TBC…

(…i…) I had to use it. I just love that line in the manga.


	28. Chapter 28

**CH 28**

**ONE MONTH (31 Days)**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Same Day – Released for Training

All the Genins were dismissed from the assembly. Many were met up with their Jounin instructors and the rest of their teams. The medics all called to them and said that they needed to be checked over for their injuries before they could go back to their families.

"It seems like a good thing," Naruto said, "But it just makes it that much harder to wait and practice some kind of wow-factor technique to impress the judges in order to win the tournament and earn our Chunin rank."

"What are you talking about Dobe," Sasuke with an exasperated sigh. "You've already earned your rank. Now what about Risa and me? What will our wow factor be?"

The blond shrugged, but had a mischievous look in his eye.

"You know who your opponent will be, right," Naruto said. "It just means that you'll need to think of something."

"Naruto," Risa said his name in a tone that told everyone she knew that the blond had already put some thought into. "My first opponent hasn't displayed anything. Choji lucked out with the 'Bye'."

"Did he really," Naruto asked.

"He's got a point," Sasuke said, which earned him a look from everyone around him, which mainly consisted of his teammates and a few of the Chunin '_Elite_' examiners. All other teams were now out of earshot. "Choji didn't show us what he was capable of. There might be the slim chance that he'll feel secure with what he already knows and may choose not to learn something new."

"But that still means I don't know what he'll be attacking with," Risa said.

"Research," Naruto told her. "The family is one of the known Clans of Konoha. Translate some of what we know about the family to figure out a plan of attack against them and you might find the key against your opponent." The girl nodded because that made sense.

"So care to tell us about the mission you completed back there," Kakashi-sensei asked. "We noticed that you'd been prepared… water bottles?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly and said, "I didn't really want anyone completely seeing what I was doing and I figured that the mist thing would be the best way to hide much of what happened."

"When were you given the mission," Tokuma-sensei asked. "Was it before you started the Genin exams?"

"No," Risa told them. "It was after we arrived at the Tower. He was taken away by ANBU, but we thought…" she looked at Sasuke who nodded his agreement that they were both thinking the same thing at the time. "We thought it had something to do with that ninja we'd captured in the woods."

"What ninja," Kakashi asked.

"We think it might have been Orochimaru," Sasuke said with a shrug. "He was too snaky to really be anybody else."

"Snaky," Tokuma-sensei asked. He shook he head as the reached an area that was far less secluded. "We'll talk about this later. You three have appointments with the medical centre and even Akoba has one with the Vet."

The dog whimpered at the word, Vet. "Oh hush," Risa said. "You know cousin Hana is nice. See, she's here to pick up Akamaru in order to check him over because the stones from the wall I punched had hit him too. I'll be there once I'm done with my review."

"Risa," Hana called out with wave. She had Akamaru in a carrier and had an empty one in her other hand. "I heard that he was covered in tape. Could you tell me why?"

"No," Risa said. "It wasn't really tape, but medical wrap and it was only taped shut."

"I'll still need to give him a check up," Hana said. "Let me have him and I'll make sure that the two of you are together in a couple of hours. Will that be fine?"

"Yes," Risa said, putting her pup in the carrier. "Be good." Akoba's whole demeanour was similar to Akamaru's in that they both looked sulky. "Thank you cousin."

"I heard you kicked my baby brother's butt," Hana said with a laugh. "Man I wish I could have been there to see it."

"There wasn't much to see," Risa said, a little embarrassed.

"Recordings of the preliminary round will be made available to the Clan Heads, the Rulers and Kages before they come to see the final round," Tokuma-sensei told her. "So I'm sure that you'll be able to see it with Tsume when she gets her copy."

"All right," Hana said. "You guys carry on. See you later."

"Later," Risa said. "Behave Akoba and don't blab our secrets." The dog just grumbled and yipped his agreement.

"All right you three," Kakashi-sensei said. "It's your turn. Naruto you're with me and you two follow the Hyuga." He guided them to the medical centre, but pulled the blond in a different direction.

Naruto sighed, having an idea of where they were going. "Sensei," he said. "There's nothing wrong with the Seal."

"I was ordered to check," Kakashi said looking at the stubborn look on the boy's face. "Congratulations, by the way."

"Huh," Naruto said looking up at him.

"On becoming Chunin during the preliminary round," the grey-haired man looked down at him with a grin.

The blond shook his head and said, "It was a political move and probably one for partial protection."

"Protection?"

"Kiri's Assassin in the Mist Technique," Naruto said. "The Rulers and Kages will see that documentation footage and wonder where I learned it. The rank will grant me some protection, although I do have a scroll that shows a similar technique to making Mist."

"Heh, heh," Kakashi chuckled. "Did you mention this to the Hokage?"

"How would he know," Naruto said. "Besides the hand signs will be unmistakeable to those that have seen it before, so yeah…it really is a form of protection."

They were now in a secure room, protected by High Level ANBU and away from the curious eyes of those that wanted to know more about the Jinchuriki of Konoha.

"How could it be explained," Kakashi asked, motioned the boy to remove the clothing that was covering the Seal.

"You are my sensei," Naruto said. "You and Tokuma-sensei were part of our mission to the Land of Waves when we encountered the missing ninja, named Momochi Zabuza. You were also there when we discovered my elemental affinities, of which one is Water. So you could have taught me the technique during our training."

"True," Kakashi said, lifting his Hitai-ate to look at the Seal with his Sharingan. "But I didn't."

"The Hokage doesn't know that, unless you told him different," Naruto said. He looked at the man and said, "You do know that '_He_' senses that you have questions."

"I have many, but…"

"He's close to the surface," Naruto said. "It's because of the blood spilled and because of Gaara's presence. Now's going to be your only chance…"

Kakashi nodded immediately…he had to take the opportunity presented.

Naruto closed his eyes and brought up the chakra belonging to the Fox demon, known as Kurama. Three breaths and then he opened red fox-slit eyes to look at the man. The boy's whisker marks deepened and his hands had claws from fingertips. The presence of the chakra was a thing of nightmares to many a Konoha ninja.

"Man," the beast growled out menacingly. "Ask your questions…be aware that there are some I just cannot answer."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"Will Naruto be all right," Sasuke asked his other Jounin sensei.

"Of course," Tokuma told his two students. "We just want to make sure that whatever the fourth Hokage had done was not undone by the presence of the creature."

Risa snorted, "That'll never happen."

Sasuke nodded and then he looked at the youngish looking nurse and shuddered at her simpering looks. "Sensei," he said. "Do not leave me."

Tokuma-sensei noted the looks that the boy was getting and he glared at the young nurses, which caused a couple to look away. "Risa," he told the girl. "You find one that you trust and get checked out. I'll stay with Sasuke."

"Yes sir," she said, walking the direction, where she knew she needed to go for a check-up.

The Head Nurse appeared and noted the atmosphere. She shooed the scary ones away and said, "Follow me, boy. Don't worry your sensei can stay with you."

"Thank you," Sasuke said looking down to the ground, sort of shy, but mainly to hide his fear. It wouldn't have been the first time that a nurse had gotten too handsy with him during the '_cough_' part of a physical exam.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"During the battle you said that someone is still living from the time that Konoha was founded," Kakashi stated.

"Did I?" The demon fox said with a bored look.

"How is that possible," Kakashi asked. 

"I can't answer that," Kurama said.

Systematically the grey-haired man had asked question after question and received a few vague replies with a lot of '_I can't answer that_,' which meant that he couldn't answer because either; he didn't know the answer or he was spelled to silence in some form.

"Look this is getting you nowhere," the demon looked at the man. "Ask your real questions or else I'm leaving."

Kakashi sighed and asked, "Will Naruto be all right, if you keep coming out like this?"

"The boy will be fine," Kurama said. "The lock on this Seal is precise and better then the one that had been on the boy's mother. I can't come out unless he let's me, which is the only reason you can talk to me at this time. Other rare cases, I may appear when force healing is required in order for the both of us to live."

"Do you intend harm to the village if you come out like this," the man said.

"That depends," the fox said. "Who's calling me to come out to play? Some old fart in an office with questions or some idiot completely bent on destroying the village that he believes should have been his to control from the beginning."

Kakashi looked up sharply and knew that he'd just been given a broad hint, along with the founding of Konoha. '_Some of the answers may just be in Sasuke's library,_' he thought. '_Or the Grand Shinobi Library and their deep vaults, which only the Hokage and a very select few can see._'

"The fox kit living inside," Kakashi said. "Is he a danger to Naruto or this village?"

"Kita's has never attacked has he?" The fox asked.

The kit then emerged from the boy's body too. He looked around the room and then looked at the blond boy. "Gran'pa, what're you doing out?"

"Why are you out at this time," the old fox asked. "Never mind that now, tell the man that you mean none of the any harm."

"Papa's team has seen me at different times," Kita said with a sharp tooth yawn. "It's usually at night, but why the questions about me now?"

"May I ask why you come out at night," Kakashi questioned the little kit.

"Gran'pa snores," Kita replied honestly. "The cage is loud and his snores cause the floor to vibrate. If I sleep on one of his tails it's okay, but some nights he's restless and just rolls and rolls, which leaves me sleeping on the floor, so I come out instead. Papa keeps me just as warm and he moves less in his sleep."

Kakashi coughed to stop the need to laugh at the shocked look on the Fox's face.

"I'm through with your questions," the fox said. He closed his eyes, took three deep breaths and the chakra emanation that had been present from his emersion, disappeared.

Naruto opened his eyes and his body hazed through the phases of his former life before settling into his current form. This had happened during the exam too, but he never noticed it. No one else had noticed it either, but it was only a spirit settlement. His body was twelve and that was how he was living his life now.

Kakashi had noticed it. "What was that?"

"What was what," Naruto returned.

"I could have sworn that I saw you looking older and aged," Kakashi said.

"He does that when he visits the cage too," Kita said. "It's spiritual. Gran'pa thinks it's cause he's reincarnated and his spirit knows it. Just forget about it." He returned to his place inside the Seal.

"Good idea," Kakashi said.

"Can I get dressed now?" Naruto asked. "I do have a mission report to fill out and I also need to know, if I'll be given the same month off."

"Do you need it," Kakashi asked as he nodded for the boy to get dressed.

"I think it would be fair," he said. "The Genin teams won't be doing missions until the Chunin exams are over anyway."

"We'll go see the Hokage about that," the man said. "Let's go get you check out first."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Two Days Later

Risa was sitting in her family's compound watching Akoba play with the new pups that had been born. She was juggling six balls and thinking about a bomb delivery system that would work well against the puppeteer from Suna. She was also thinking about how to defeat Choji whose family had a signature Taijutsu form, but she just didn't know what it could be.

"Don't think too hard," Naruto said from the tree above her where he'd landed.

"Hey," she said looking up. "How did everything go with the council?"

"Those meddling old farts," the blond said with a shrug and a wicked grin. "I told them a bit of what they wanted to hear, but I also basically told a couple of them that they were getting senile and should think about going into an old folks home."

"Naruto," Risa said in tone semi-chastising tone. She put away the balls she'd been using. "I have an idea on how to deliver my toys, but…"

"But…"Naruto dropped down and crouched next to her. "What?"

"I'd like to get Haku's help," Risa said.

Naruto smiled and said, "Really! Why, what method are you thinking of using?"

"Senbon," she said. "Do you think his boss could spare him for some Senbon throwing lessons?"

"I'm sure something could be arranged," Naruto said with a grin. "Let me go see where they are and I'll get back to you." He hopped back up into the trees in order to leave the same way he dropped in.

"Thanks," she said.

"De nada," Naruto told her and he was gone.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

A Day Later

Sasuke had been thinking about his upcoming fight against Gaara of the Sand. He was sitting in his compound wondering how to go about fighting against the sand armour and defence. "There has to be a way through," he muttered. "But how…"

"It's a tricky thing," Kakashi-sensei said and then jumped away from the three shuriken that were thrown in his direction because he'd startled his student. "Good you're getting more speed to your attacks."

Sasuke huffed, "Kaka-sensei what are you doing here?"

"It occurred to me that you might find yourself pondering on a solution to the dilemma of sand and an armour made of it," the grey-haired man said. The black haired youth snorted at the obvious question. "I could show you a few things, but honestly I too don't quite know how to conquer that one."

"Taijutsu or Kenjutsu," Sasuke said. "Maybe a mix of both, but I think I need to go somewhere for that. Something of Lee's method, speed and persistence. I know that there's a way to use that."

"I know a place," Naruto piped up, as he landed on another roof. "I got word that there's an island in the Land of Waves that might be just the thing. Perfect training paradise or so I was told."

"What about Risa," Sasuke asked.

"Her solution is coming here," Naruto said. "A friend needs some more patch supplies and is willing to stick around for next three weeks, as long as a replacement is sent to aid his partner. I need to go there too, so we can take those supplies with us."

"Us," Kakashi-sensei asked.

"Only if you want to come along on a plain old C-Rank, Kaka-sensei," Naruto told him, jumping down to stand next to the Uchiha. He looked at Sasuke and asked, "Can Risa stay here with our friend? I can set up wards to prevent anyone from peeking in at them, plus it also means that we won't have to book any of Konoha's training grounds. If they need them then they can do that on their own."

Sasuke shrugged and said, "I don't mind, wards would be good though. I'd like them on the main house and the north wing where I put the library scrolls. But who's going to teach the Taijutsu."

"We'll bring a few scrolls from the library," Naruto said. "Our Kenjutsu master might be able to help us with that thing we figured out."

"I know a thing or two about Taijutsu," Kakashi-sensei told them, as he landed next to where they were standing. "I know how to integrate it with a Tanto, so I can teach you some of the forms that might help you to integrate them with the longer blades."

Naruto and Sasuke looked at one another. The black haired youth lifted an eyebrow and the blond gave a single nod of his head. It was a good idea.

"All right," Sasuke told the man. "Will Tokuma-sensei be watching over Risa?"

"He is our other sensei," Naruto said. "Unless he was called back into the Jounin ranks?" He looked at Kakashi to see how that would work.

"Until our students have passed or failed the Chunin exams," the man said. "They are all listed as our students until further notice. You'll have to ask him, but I'm sure he won't mind."

"I have a few calls to make," Naruto said.

"Calls?" Sasuke asked.

"We're not in the dark ages," the blond them. "There are telephones."

"I know that, but calls to who," the Uchiha asked.

"People," Naruto replied with a grin. "Prepare your kits for travel, we can leave in three hours and if we're lucky, we can get to the ship by tomorrow afternoon. Seal?" He asked his teammate who nodded and confirmed to wanting that eye colour and Sharingan hider, even though his Sharingan was already hidden. The blond then Shunsinned away, leaving the other two look on and wonder.

Sasuke shrugged and walked into the main house of the Uchiha compound saying, "Guess I'll go pack my stuff."

"I'll meet the two of you at the front gates," Kakashi said scratching the back of his head.

Fours hours later, they left the village with all their proper papers in hand, including the parcel for delivery and the Hokage's blessing for supplemental training away from the village.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

The following day Risa and Tokuma were waiting at the gates for their guest, who arrived in the company of three foxes. A couple of which had more than one tail.

"Oh my," Tokuma-sensei said. "Hold your weapons!" He yelled at the guards.

Risa ran out to meet a friend and Akoba to meet three interesting creatures. "Haku," she yelled running up to hug him, but it was an excuse to talk to him before he reached the gates. "Are they here for Naruto?"

"Yes," Haku said. "I freed two from very intricate traps when they asked me to. They knew about the scroll and were about to gnaw their own legs off to get here. Is he around?"

"Didn't you get the message," Risa asked and then explained when he shook his head. "He left last night to deliver a textile bundle to a merchant vessel called '_The Fox Fire_'. Sasuke is letting us use his compound. It's completely warded and I have to place a Seal on you in order allow you to move freely to and from the place."

"I see," Huka said, taking the scroll that she slipped him. He then turned to the three foxes and said, "The one I was telling you about just left the village, but should be returning when the moon is at this same phase."

"We understand," the oldest of the three said. He looked to the other two and then said, "We'll still accept the treatment promised."

"You're wounded," Risa said. "My cousin can help you. Do you plan to stay in the village?"

"Once we are healed we can hide until the return of the boy," the oldest said.

"We're going into a warded location for training," Tokuma told them. "We can purchase meats from our market to suit you for the time until the wards fall, but we do have to decide quickly." He glanced back at the guards. "I can also provide you with the same Seals to allow the same freedoms."

"Tell them that we have a pact and that in order to fulfill it properly we are going to wait for our companion's return," the eldest said to Haku. It was the truth anyway. "We'll take only the one that will allow us into the secluded area. We do not want the option to leave, as the hostility seen is not something we wish to experience again."

Haku nodded and was glad that he had the papers of proof for things like this. He walked up to the gate and handed his papers, including the one that mentions that the foxes were there for a purpose.

"I've never seen anything like that," one Chunin guard said.

"Why," Haku asked tilting his head slightly. "Risa has a dog and there are several animals roaming around that I can see."

"Foxes are a different matter altogether in this Village," the second guard said. He only received a shrug for his semi-question.

"We're taking them to Hana and then they'll be with us in the Uchiha Compound until Naruto returns," Risa explained. The guards recorded the information and then waved them on through.

"I was to pick up some other things from Akiko's," Haku said.

"Risa why don't you take the foxes to see you're cousin, while I go introduce our friend, here, to your old teammate," Tokuma-sensei suggested.

"All right," Risa agreed.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Five Days Later

The Konoha Council were debating the names of the invitees. There was one Company name that had been in their books, as having paid for missions, for approximately the past three years and yet no one had ever met the Head of the Company. Polite letters were always sent in reply to all other Nations, all along the lines of:

'_Our Company is young and too new at this time to allow our Director time to attend the prestigious function of a Shinobi Chunin Selection Exam…_'

However that '_small_' company had been ordering several missions from a couple of Shinobi nations, with the majority of them being requested and fulfilled by Konoha, Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"You must allow that the number of missions commissioned by this Kitsune Company Limited has been profitable for our coffers," one council member said. "We must send a request unlike any other to entice the Head of the Company to come."

"It would be a coup if we managed to do what no other Shinobi Nation could do," another member commented.

"That may be true," Hyuga Hiashi said. "However we must expect a similar answer or reply to our request. Whether the enticement is accepted or not we must accept that the man doesn't seem to want to enter any of the Shinobi borders."

"Why do you suppose that is," the third Hokage asked. "This is a man who gained a '_good_' reputation for taking over a large shipping empire like Gato's and seems to be a man that needs to be respected. I've had many reports that the Land of Waves is no longer suffering from the fees that had been implemented by Gato's greed."

"True," Hiashi said. "However it could also be deemed suspicious too. Why has no Nation been able to see the Company's President or gain an introduction? It's almost like the man doesn't care for our customs or protocols."

"We do happen to have a young man in our Village that is deemed to be a representative of that Company," Shimura Danzou said. "Perhaps he'd be able to persuade his Boss to attend."

"Who might that be," the Hokage asked.

"A young man who's currently residing in the Uchiha Compound," Danzou told the council.

"The Uchiha Compound…"

"Someone's staying there…"

"How is this possible…"

"Does the young Uchiha know…"

"Didn't the boy leave the village with the demon," one council member pointed out.

"A-hem," the Hokage coughed. "The young Uchiha has had his family's compound Sealed before leaving. No Shinobi may penetrate that Seal other than those that are considered exceptions."

"How is that possible," Hiashi asked.

"It is of a similar technique that was presented during Chunin Uzumaki's battle," their leader told them. "He petitioned and received permission to do so for whenever he needed to travel outside of our village."

"How do you know you cannot go in," one of the members asked.

"I tried to send a Ninja to request an audience with the young man, that Danzou had mentioned and to no avail," the Hokage told them.

"How come we were not informed of that Seal before now," Danzou asked. "Surely it is something new that can be used by our Ninjas."

"Actually we already have that technique in our libraries," Sarutobi Hiruzen told them. "We've just never seen it modified in such a way prior to the Sealing or Warding of the entire compound."

"What do you mean," a council member asked.

"It is the same Seal that our shopkeepers use to lock or ward many of their storefronts," the old man explained. "The young Uchiha had used those on each of his buildings prior to every mission that took him away from Konoha's walls. This is the first time he's warded the entire compound. He has the right to protect his lands and buildings."

There was a knock on the door to the meeting room. An attendant opened the door and passed a missive for the Third Hokage. Hiruzen read what it said and the lifted a business card up to show what he'd received.

"It seems that we can call the number on this card to reach the Kitsune Company Limited, President directly," the Hokage said. "The note indicates that he'll take the one call and after that the number on the card will no longer be of any use."

"How is that possible," a council member asked.

"Disposable communication device," the Hokage explained. "Interesting concept, but impractical for a Shinobi in the field. Even if it is completely turned off there are those that are sensitive enough to detect such a thing. Something about unnaturalness detected in natural states…"

"Are you going to use it," Danzou asked.

"I'm not sure that I want to at this point in time," the Hokage said. "It would be polite, but there's hardly a need. We were only deciding on whether to send the man an invitation. Let's put this in reserve and move on to the next item of the agenda."

"Uzumaki's promotion during the preliminaries," Danzou said. "How could you arbitrarily decide such a thing without consultation of the council? I, for one, must protest."

"I disagree," Hiashi said. "The Hokage has a right to elevate or promote his soldiers as he sees fit. Whether the young man participates all the way through is quite irrelevant now, the invitations to the leaders for their input is just that an input or recommendation, which may or may not influence a Genin's chance to gain his or her rank. During the preliminary round, Uzumaki had performed as a ninja above the rank of Genin. I for one agree that his level of skill is above that of a normal Genin."

"How can you say that," another member of the council said. "The whole thing was covered in Mist. We couldn't see a thing."

"True, but the boy thought of protecting the spectators before commencing his attack and that is the act of someone considering the people and damage he may be about to do," Hiashi told them. "He placed the Proctor in a position of safety and ensured that injuries to bystanders were minimized in the best possible fashion."

The council members looked thoughtfully at each other.

"By promoting him this way, you basically told all the others Leaders and Kages that he was too strong to compete further," another stated with a comprehending smile. "It would still have been interesting to see more of the boy's talents."

"It is wise to keep some things like his skills in reserve for the missions that need them," a third council member said. "It'll also keep them guessing about the scope of the boy's talents. They'll come here wondering if they've seen everything or not because he was just a Genin."

"What of the matter of the Demon's presence that came forward," Danzou asked.

"That's been explained to the common rulers and other Daimyous, as a form Beast Mimicry," the Hokage said. "He's had an Inuzuka teammate for a long time and they are famous for their Beast Mimicry Jutsu, which is a teachable technique without the need for a bonded canine companion to perform. Luckily there was evidence of that in the footage that has been submitted for them to see."

"Doesn't that particular '_teachable_' technique only work if the ninja in question is in possession of a Summoning Scroll for animals,' Danzou asked.

"Does it," the Hokage asked. "I've never heard of that phenomena…are you sure?"

"I have not looked up that technique in recent years," the one eyed man said. "I'll may have to get back to you on that one."

"Please do," Sarutobi said. "I'd be very interested in seeing the results of your research. Now is there anything else to bring up…"

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Ten Days Later

Gaara had read the scroll and had asked the only adult that he partially trusted to investigate the matter because his siblings trusted the man. Their '_teacher_' put together a short list of ninja that could be trusted absolutely to investigate the strange note that had been given to him. It had contained coordinates and condolences, however the sentiments did not explain why condolences were needed.

Baki didn't know why he needed to check out that particular area of the dessert and yet he had a terrible sense of foreboding. '_It's not often that he requests a favour,_' the man thought. '_There has to be a reason, but at the moment it escapes me._'

"Sir," one of the ANBU called out to him, as he was leader for this mission. "Over here."

There in a shallow grave were the bodies of three people.

Baki swallowed and instinctively knew that they had to be taken to the elderly brother and sister of the deep. They were the only ones that could authentic what his gut was screaming at him. "Take them the Siblings," he said. "Not a word to anyone. I will inform my students and they will formulate the plan. Find your trusted and be sure of them."

"Yes sir," one of the ANBU replied. He took out a corpse transportation scroll and placed what was undoubtedly their former Kazekage, one of his advisers and the ANBU that followed them everywhere.

Chiyo and Ebizou were known as the '_Legendary Siblings_' of Wind Country. They didn't mix and mingle with the leaders or the Kazekage's Council like some of their generation did because they didn't feel like they had done the right thing during the Wars. They had moved to a secluded area of the Kazekage's domain, as they were family and family like to consult family in times of stress.

This time, however, it wasn't just family that they were entertaining.

Two ANBU and the three Genin Sand students currently still in the running for the rank of Chunin, were present.

Chiyo looked at the girl, the puppeteer and then she looked at the boy that she'd planted the demon inside. He was a regret for her, based on the life that the young man had led and is still leading. She hadn't been skilled in the Art of Seals, but had done what had been asked of her.

"Yes," she looked at them. Their faces were serious and it should in the stance that the ANBU had.

"We need corpse authentication," Gaara said, without beating around the bush. It was too important to not get it right.

"Why not take this to official channels," Chiyo asked.

"They're not family," the red-haired youth explained. "We need authoritative confirmation before we plan or take any further action."

Chiyo slowly blinked and then looked to her brother, Ebizou, who had a confused expression. He only shrugged at her, indicating that it was her choice to help or not.

"Very well," she said. "Bring them here." She pointed to an area that had raised platforms and was surprised when three corpses were brought forward. Upon seeing them, she gasped. Her brother came to her side and hissed at what he saw.

"Where were they," he asked. The situation about finding them was explained and then he said, "He's been sending missives to his Council, saying that negotiations with Sound are going well."

"The Council needs to know," Temari said.

"No," Gaara told them. "The plans will continue, as is, however we will ensure that those in key positions are the ones we trust. If communication is still coming in, we need to find who it is that is speaking to our Council, as the Kage, if these bodies prove true."

"They are, as they seem," Chiyo said. "I will perform the tests, but I know my poisons and I know who's been afflicted by which over time. I will write up my report and give it to…"

"Me," Gaara said. "You'll give it to me. I will hold onto it until we return to Fire Country to continue our Chunin exams."

"As you wish," Chiyo said. "Leave me to do this." They bowed and left her.

"You realize that the reasons for this '_War_' are not known," Ebizou told her. "I have some hope that things may change."

"Things have changed," she pointed out. "If this had been discovered after those children had already left, what to you think would have happened?"

Ebizou knew what would have happened. It wasn't something he wanted to see Suna embroiled in. "The arrogance to believe that we'd be easily manageable," he muttered. "How simple it was to change the course of this Sand."

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Thirteen Days Later

Encased in a block of ice still living and completely confined, the Snake Sannin wasn't happy. His plans were going to fail at this rate. They hadn't even tried to remove him from the ice or the block at his feet.

'_Oh that looks interesting_,' he thought, as the guard in the room just fell to the ground. A small figure approached, cloaked and masked. '_Who and what are they…_'

"Earth Style: Tiny Quake," the figure said.

Orochimaru felt the block of Earth trapping his feet, crumble and a couple of his bones would have shattered, if they had been in a semi-cohesive state. This time not caring about be seen escaping from the ice, he curled his body in a coil as he drained away from the ice.

Once he was out and in human form, he looked at his kneeling rescuer. "You're not Kabuto," he said. "Step forward."

The small person did as asked and didn't flinch when the blank face, mask was removed. The Snake Sannin looked and then grinned. "I take it the experiment went well," he observed. "We need to leave here. I have plans in motion that must not fail."

"Yes my lord," the pink-haired girl said.

"You will tell where is Kabuto," he said.

"Dead, my lord," she replied.

"How?"

"Ordered by the Hokage," she answered. She never volunteered the information. She couldn't speak independently yet. It had taken thirteen days for the seeds of the experiment to come to fruition and then she acted.

"We leave now," the man told her. "You are ready."

"There is nothing for me," she replied, turning her blanked gaze at him. Her mind had been changed to his favour and with luck he wouldn't have lost his old medic after all.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Elsewhere that day, Naruto was standing in front of three men, dressed as Naoya, President of Kitsune Company Limited. He sighed and didn't like that this had to be done. The distaste of finding out that these three had breeched their contract didn't sit well with him at all.

"So you sold information," he stated. "Stole from the shipments and returned to extorting from the people." He looked at all of them. "You voluntarily took the bonds and have had a run of bad luck. Your first step spiralled you to this conclusion. If you had stopped your activities, at any point, we would never have had to meet."

The three men looked at him in defiance. He knew that they didn't believe that he'd really kill them. They'd ignored the fact that others that had failed like they had done were never heard from again. The man had already saved them from Gato once.

Naoya pulled out a Tanto blade and killed all three without much expression on his face. He looked at the men that had brought the three in for questioning. "A bonus will be deposited in your accounts," he said. "Feel to tell anyone that I've not gone soft in the head or anywhere else. Bond breakers will be treated, as per the contracts signed, no exceptions."

"Yes, sir," they said and left when they were dismissed with the bodies of the fallen bond or Seal traitors.

"You're pretty ruthless," a grey haired ninja said. "Where have you been hiding?"

"I'm sorry," Naoya said, looking at the man who was his sensei. "What are you talking about, Kakashi-sensei?"

The man snorted and shook his head. "Are you going to attend the Chunin exams as the President of a Company or as a newly ranked Chunin?"

"Hmm," Naoya said. "I'm still thinking on that one."

"Konoha will gain prestige…" 

"I know," Naoya said. "I've turned down every other request in the past because I'd been '_unavailable to attend_' for various reasons. I have to be careful and plan carefully, Kakashi. Don't bring it up again."

"As you wish, Boss," Kakashi-sensei told him. He had a kick out of calling the blond man that because that's what Zabuza called him officially. The blond developed a constipated look every time he was called '_Boss_' for some reason, but it was funny to see that reaction, so the ninja kept using the term.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Twenty Days Later

Sasuke was taking a break from his training. He'd called out the two warrior brother hawks for advice and they were having a grand time playing in the real world.

Barak, the older brother commented, "Your Kenjutsu style has more Fire in it."

"That's right," Niyal said. "I think you should concentrate on your Lightning."

"Why," Sasuke asked.

Zabuza had been leaning up against a tree, just observing the hawks and their contract holder.

"Lightning, directed to sand can turn the sand into a chunk of glass," he said. Then he explained how he knew this obscure bit of information. "I read that in a Science Monthly magazine."

The black haired youth blinked at the thought that a ninja like the Demon of the Mist, would read something so, so non-ninja, but then he shrugged and chose to put that information at the back of his mind.

"Now that's an idea," Niyal said. "Could you turn the chakra infused sand into glass?"

"I don't know," Sasuke said.

"But if you used Lightning to defend and strike in Kenjutsu form," Barak said. "You'd be able to be do something interesting in the fight. I believe that could be your '_Wow_' factor."

Sasuke stood up and then practiced his forms again this time only concentrating on his Lightning element. It was still an element unfamiliar to him, but it was one that he knew would have benefits to his needs, it was just too new at the moment to fall into an automated understanding of it and everything that he could possibly do with it.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Twenty-Eight Days Later

Exhausted and ready for at least twenty-four hours of sleep Sasuke, Naruto and their sensei walked through the gates of Konoha. It was then that the blond youth learned about the foxes.

"Hey kid," one of the guards said.

"Huh," Naruto said with a wide yawn. "What is it?"

"You received company," the second one explained. "They're waiting for you in the Uchiha compound."

"O…kay," Naruto's eyes narrowed because they had slightly calculating looks on their faces. "You guys placed another bet didn't you?"

"Of course," the first one. "We have to get our fun somehow."

"Whatever spins your shuriken," the blond said. "Teme, wait up, I'm coming with you." The black haired boy only stopped and waited until his friend had caught up to him.

"The Hokage would like to see you immediately," the second Chunin told Kakashi. "You heard of the escape?"

"Yes," the one-eyed man said. "The meeting related?"

"We can't tell you more," the first said with a nod. "Don't delay, this is vital!"

Kakashi looked at them and noted their unease at being the messengers. He may be laid back, but when things are '_vital_', he knew to act properly.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

**TBC…**


	29. Chapter 29

**CH 29**

**Days 29 - 31**

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Some rumours were flying around the town, but none had affected the remainders of the old Genin Team Seven more than the fact that Haruno Sakura could not be located. Her parents had been killed and the girl was needed to answer a few questions about it. Her disappearance is suspect because it seems that she disappeared the same day that the Snake Sannin had made his escape.

Kakashi was the one that had the unlovely honour of informing Sasuke and Naruto, on day following their return. He also was the one that told them that their old pink haired teammate had been declared a Missing Ninja. "Usually Genin aren't deemed strong enough to be placed in the Bingo Books as Missing Ninja to be considered dangerous," he told them. "However by association they can be added and in this case it's under the strong suspicion that she's taken Kabuto's place in Orochimaru's organization. Everything about her is suspect, including her actions during the Chunin exams."

"Why her," Naruto asked in a muttered tone, more in thought, than in order to get an answer.

"Chakra residue on the block that had bound the Snake's feet," Tokuma-sensei told them. "She used an Earth Style spell and it left a residue of the chakra of the person who'd caused the block to crumble."

"There were two residues on the block," Kakashi told them. "One from Risa, who was the original castor and a second on the pieces left behind. Since I was Sakura's sensei I was able to identify her personal chakra signature much better than any other Shinobi."

"How is that possible," Sasuke said.

"Signature recognition," Naruto told his teammates. "Right sensei?"

"Correct," Kakashi said. "It's a valuable tool when you're ordered out into the field to know who's on your team, but there are ways to mask it and to change to something else."

"Is that an easy skill to learn," Risa asked. "Or is it one that needs to be learned over time?"

"Over time," Tokuma-sensei told them. "For those without an ocular bloodline, the skill can only be learned overtime."

"Ahh!" Naruto yelled. "That's how the old fart did it!"

"Did what," Sasuke asked.

"When Mizuki was caught," Naruto said. "I was testing something for Akiko, but I didn't even think about chakra signature recognition. Old man caught me with it!"

"You where there," Kakashi-sensei asked.

Naruto stopped all movements, coughed and chuckled a bit. "Heh, heh," he noised, putting his hands behind his head. "That's…uh…uh…classified…yah, classified. Sorry sensei can't say more than that."

No amount of cajoling from his teammates or threats from his teachers about painful training, which he only scoffed at, could get the true story out of him.

"Very well then," Tokuma said. "I guess we know '_who_' to turn over to Ibiki."

"What," Sasuke said. "Why?"

"Well the man's been asking questions about the first part of the exam," Kakashi-sensei told them. "Something about '_word-for-word_' answers that were impossible to do and still be undetectable too, which by the way earned you three the twenty-seven team points that were given out at the beginning of the exam and the three point deductions are only for the unanswered questions."

"I told you it would work," Risa said with a triumphant look. Akoba barked his agreement.

The two men looked at the younger males of their group and noted their downcast eyes. "You Risa," Tokuma-sensei said because his counterpart was too busy gaping. "What worked?"

"Akiko created some gloves for us," Risa said. "We'd already learnt coded language, but she told us that the gloves would allow transmission of codes to the palms of the gloves that were recognized as paired or linked together."

"I didn't that know that it would work so well," Naruto said rubbing the back of his head. '_Nothing like this has ever existed in my past before,_' he thought. '_Now Sakura…I guess I should just live in the now, but some things still need to be watched for._'

"It's the stitching in the gloves," Sasuke told his senseis, getting nods from his friends. "Akiko had made them for us to use during the exam. She claimed that it would be the best testing environment for them. It was a better forum instead in the field where they could fail, especially if a team is counting on them. A mock mission wouldn't have been enough of a test, if people already knew about them."

"Show me," Kakashi-sensei asked. The black haired boy handed him one of his gloves. The one-eyed man looked them over and then looked inside and found the stitching. There was an inactive Seal that had specific conditions for activation. "That girl couldn't have written this or come up with that on her own."

"It was a Team Eleven idea," Tokuma-sensei said with pride, causing Kakashi's head to pop up. "Akiko, Naruto and Risa, including myself had a discussion about how to change clothing, I believe."

"Yes sensei," Risa said. "We continued to discuss more of the same afterwards too. Those clothing patches work and are the main source of Akiko's income, but we'd also discussed covert messaging too." The blond boy nodded and she continued. "Akiko's been thinking about different ways to use Fujin stitching with the clothing of the ninja and about covert operations. We had many discussions about it."

"Who came up with the Seals," Kakashi-sensei said. "It's the work of a Master."

"Thank you, Kakashi," Naruto said, looking at the man.

"But…" the man frowned. "I thought…"

"I only knew disguising Seals," Naruto said with a grin. "Nah, I've always been interested in this stuff, since I've had one on my stomach all of my life. I wanted to know how they were created, for as long as I can remember."

"But your grades at the Academy," Kakashi stated. "They were below par."

Naruto shrugged. "They would be," he explained. "Who wanted to actually teach the Fox Demon? Seriously, other than Iruka-sensei, who couldn't devote a lot of time without accusations of favouritism, who actually wanted to teach me anything?"

"But this requires…"

"Kaka-sensei," Sasuke said, getting the man's attention. "Books can be borrowed from a library or bought in store."

"Or read in store if the store owner wants to step out for a bit without wanting to close his business," Naruto told the man with a pointed look.

"Point," Kakashi said with a wry grin and a shake of his head. There was no point in delving further because it was obvious that some of the information came from the store, but he strongly suspected that the boy had a very understanding sensei in his first Jounin instructor. "Some must have come from other regions though."

"That'd be me," Tokuma confirmed his supposition. "During missions, if I ever found anything related to Fuuinjutsu I purchased, copied and for a couple even borrowed, permanently." They looked at him in shock. "What? Those patches saved my life more times than could be counted. I had to encourage my student to continue with this or else, we, the Shinobi of Konoha would lose out."

"All right, all right," Kakashi said holding up his hand to indicate that he will quit basing some things only on the boy's scholastic records. He gave the glove back to Sasuke and then he looked at the blond youth and said, "You know that we really do need to test you for your skills."

"Why," Risa said.

"Well the Hokage puts together groups and teams based on the skills the ninja know," Tokuma-sensei said. "There are Shinobi that are specialized in particular fields and then there are few that are generalized enough to fit in many of those teams. It's always best to know who would be the best for particular jobs."

"I'd rather wait a few years before anything goes officially into my file," Naruto said. "I wouldn't want to be confined to learning what someone else feels I should be learning, until I'm ready to tackle a few of them myself. I haven't done too badly so far."

"You just don't want to lose us as your teammates," Sasuke said with a clear and sudden insight.

"Well you guys are such fun," Naruto said with a grin and then he sobered up. "Team Eleven's dynamic spoiled me." He confessed. "I liked it so much that I wanted it back with my new team, unfortunately Sakura…"

"She didn't even try," Sasuke said in the same sober tone. "I noticed the difference between her and her cousin the day I met Akiko. There was just something…ah… I can't explain it. There was just something wrong with everything that happened with her." He paused and then looked at his senseis. "Will we have to take a mission to hunt her down some day?"

"That will depend on a few things," Tokuma-sensei said. "We'll just have to wait and see how the rest of the Chunin exam pans out and what kind of missions we'll be assigned in the future." He paused and then said, "You do know that the team may be reassigned or changed, right?"

"Yes sir," they all said.

"Is that all you needed to tell us," Naruto asked. "About Sakura I mean."

"Yes that's everything," the man said. "Why do you ask?"

"Well I was hoping to go to the hospital to visit Lee," Naruto said. "I want to know how he's doing."

"That's fine," Kakashi-sensei told them. "Until the day of the final part of the Chunin exams are finished you three are free. Use the time wisely."

"Thank you sensei," Naruto said with a grin. He waved to his other two friends and they all took off in different directions leaving the food bill for their senseis to pick up.

Kakashi-sensei was surprised at the quickness of his students' retreat and then looked to his joint teacher who was out the door just as fast saying, "Your fault for saying that you'd pick up the check. Later!"

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Gaara felt the pull towards the hospital. He didn't know why he was so affected by the preliminary battle against the '_homely little prince charming_', but there was something that he needed to see for himself.

'_Why,_' he thought. '_Why does this one bother me? Is it because it feels unfinished or there's some other reason?_' (…i…)

He stood in the doorway staring at the sleeping boy. Then his mind wasn't his own. '_No, I don't want this,_' he thought. '_Doing something like this will blow all our new plans?_'

Gaara's control slipped. He took a shaking step after shaking step to get to Lee's bedside. His chakra infused sand flowed from the gourd at his back. '_Sense me,_' he thought to the boy. '_Come on and sense that you're in danger, please_!'

The ninja from Suna's hand was about to close, forming the Sand Coffin that had spelled the doom of many of his attackers. Suddenly he couldn't finish. His hand refused to curl into the fist. '_I can't…move…_' he realized. '_Thank Kami!_'

It was a good thing that Naruto had chosen to visit Lee on this day because he had a feeling that something was about to repeat from his past. Sure he wasn't a patient like the last time, but he had a feeling that Gaara was in trouble and needed his help now rather than later.

Luckily he'd encountered Shikamaru, who was going there to visit Choji who'd eaten too much barbeque that their Asuma-sensei had promised during the preliminaries and finally delivered. Poor boy wasn't allowed to eat anything other than hospital food in order to monitor his metabolism for a day. He'd be fine for the finals.

Walking onto the floor the two boys both noticed part of the large, signature gourd going into a room. That's when the two looked at each other and ran to help. Shikamaru did his Shadow Possession technique and then watched, intrigued that the brash blond did nothing, but go up to the red haired boy and, '..._ hug him?_' He thought, '_Why?_'

"Gaara," Naruto said in the boy's ear. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you fight in the final Chunin battle without taking care of this before. Especially, if you're control has slipped this much…"

The red haired boy didn't know if he wanted to lean against him or push him away. Since his shadow was currently possessed, he just enjoyed the first non-violent touch that he'd ever received in his life. He felt the crack in his sand armour at the back of his neck and almost panicked when he couldn't put it back.

"What did you think you were doing," Shikamaru asked.

"I wanted to kill him," Gaara answered honestly. He wanted to say more, but couldn't because of the demon he was fighting with.

Shikamaru scowled and asked, "Do you have a personal vendetta against him or what?"

"No," Gaara said. He felt something being placed on the back of his neck. "...nothing like that."

"You really weren't raised right, were you?" Shikamaru noted.

"To be raised…," Gaara said. "I don't understand that. The process of my birth was a nightmare. I stole the life of the woman I was supposed to call '_mother_'. In order to create the world's strongest Shinobi, my father used Ninjutsu to implant an incarnation of sand within my body… I was born a monster!"

"A type of possession art that causes a foetus to be forcibly possessed…?" Shikamaru couldn't believe it. "To go that far…that's crazy. What kind of parent does a thing like that? What twisted love."

"Love," Gaara frowned, as he asked the question. He felt a foreign chakra pushing against the back of his neck. Working to break down a few of his mental defences and yet, he knew that the blond boy would protect those around him. "Don't judge me by your standards. Let me tell you…My mother's life was sacrificed so that I could be brought to life as my village's greatest masterpiece…a weapon and the Kazekage's son."

"My father taught me many secret Shinobi skills, one after another. I was indulged and spoiled, but raised in complete isolation and at first I thought that was love," Gaara told them in a bland near emotionless tone of voice. "That is until the incident, six years ago."

"What happened," Naruto asked.

"Ever since I turned six, my _father_, has been trying to assassinate me," Gaara told them. His eyes were angry, bloodshot and the grin he developed on his face was difficult to look at. "I've lost count of how many attempts he's made. A presence that is too powerful becomes something to be feared. Having been born through Jutsu…my mind is unstable…and it seems that the fools of the village finally realized I had emotional issues. To my father, in his role as Kazekage, I was the village's most powerful weapon, but at the same time I was a fearsome and dangerous '_object_'."

"I understand," Naruto said. "Shikamaru, you can release your Jutsu. I don't want you falling under, don't worry I've got him." As soon as the shadow was released, Gaara slumped onto the shoulder and was supported because he had no control over his limbs, which had been numbed and rendered useless. It didn't stop him from continuing his story.

"So when I turned six," the red haired youth told them. "They determined that I was too great a liability. Prior to that I'd only been '_handled with care_' like any other hazardous instrument. To them, I am now a relic of the past that they wished to erase and forget."

"I would have turned out just like you," Naruto said. "If one person hadn't held out his hand and supported me, I'd have been just like you. Only in my case I didn't have family…no father, no mother, no siblings, no one to really block the villagers when they came. Those people are just blinded by their fears and what they see. Demons cannot tell the difference between right and wrong because all they know is survival. Forgiveness is easy and hard, especially for those born like us, right Gaara?"

"I don't…know…," Gaara said. "I can't fall asleep '_mother_' will take over."

"Shukaku is not your mother," Naruto said. He pushed the boy away and allowed the demon fox's chakra to emerge and then flow into the other boy. "I'm sending you some help until we can place a proper Seal on you to help with your…troublesome creature."

Gaara's armour didn't stop the pouring of red chakra into his body and his body, finally sensing peace, actually slumped into a non-peaceful sleep.

Sasuke and Risa had been standing in the doorway, listening along with Lee's sensei. "Sasuke," Naruto said. "Take the sand gourd and bring it to Temari and Kankuro. Tell them that Gaara is talking to someone just like him and will return when he is ready. Kakashi I need your help."

Kakashi and Gai-sensei stepped into the room. "Don't separate us, but you know where to take us, right sensei?"

"Yes," the man said. They two made sure that they remained linked and Risa covered them with a camo-cloth that changed to look like something the two men would naturally be carrying. "Risa you go with Sasuke." The girl nodded and the two of them left the room.

"Thanks for the help," Naruto said to Shikamaru, who suddenly found that he'd been left alone in the hospital room with a still sleeping unconscious Lee.

"Troublesome," the boy said and he tucked his hands into his pants pockets, slouched and ambled down the hallway to go visit his teammate Choji.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"Your youthful student had arrived just in time my ever cool rival," Gai-sensei said as they took Gaara and Naruto to the ritual room underground of the Hokage's Tower. It was a place secure and safe to conduct various types of rituals, usually those related to the Fuuinjutsu Arts. There were pillars throughout and interspersed to allow for numerical concentration.

"He's unusually perceptive," Kakashi muttered, knowing that the blond boy was listening in. "Place them here and please lock the door behind you."

"No can do my friend," Gai-sensei said. "I will watch your back in this matter."

"Gai-sensei," Naruto said. "This requires peace to concentrate. I appreciate your enthusiasm and persistence, but perhaps a guard at the door would be more appropriate in order to prevent interruption. Gaara has family that will be concerned, even if Risa and Sasuke are our ambassadors they may still seek to prevent the cure."

"Yosh," Gai-sensei said with his '_good guy_' pose, thumb out, as the camo-cloak was lifted. "You are quite correct that sometimes familial concerns can interfere. You are wise in your youth. I will see that you are safe." He stepped out of the room.

Kakashi locked it from the inside and watch as Naruto stripped the red haired boy to expose his chest and the partial Seal that was being fed by the red chakra of the fox demon. He looked closer and winced, "This was badly done."

"It wasn't professionally done," Naruto agreed. He took a deep breath and centred himself. He placed his hands in the '_focus_' sign and nodded at his sensei to do the same. "You need to remain focussed. I'll begin the design, here's a copy of it must look like to be completed."

"What are you going to do," his sensei asked.

"I'm going to follow the fox, just keep your focus because that will call me back to my body after I'm done," Naruto said, moving to a pillar that he knew would not be used. "You just keep the focus and we'll make sure that that thieving racoon doesn't break free." He noted the look of concern and fear. "Kakashi it will be all right, you'll see. You just need to believe it."

Kakashi gave the boy a weak grin and said, "I'll be here no matter what happens."

"I understand," Naruto said. "No interference allowed though, just let my body move on its own." His sensei nodded and then he began the focus. The blond then dropped into a meditative state and allowed his chakra aura or spirit to follow the connection he had with his own confined demon.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Gaara was locked in a very familiar battle against the racoon like demon that lived in his mind. He thought that he'd been failing until help came in the form of a giant fox. The demonic fox kept the racoon from taking over his mind and was in fact pushing him back to an area that the creature had broken out of.

Suddenly there was another person in his mind. It was a blond man, with longish hair up in a high tail with the bottom have of his hair a mix of black and white, but the rest was the yellow gold that he was used to seeing on the blond boy that promised to help him out. "Hey Gaara," the man said. "I'm here to help as promised."

"Naruto?"

"Yes," the intense blue eyes fixated on his sea foam green ones. "Is something wrong?"

"You look much older than the boy," Gaara stated.

Naruto only shrugged and said, "Spirits are different from the body. Your spirit may grow at a different rate, but eventually the body will catch up to your spiritual age." He frowned at the racoon's pale swipe and he defended by knocking it back several feet. Then he said, "How about we take care of that, now."

"Please," the boy that Gaara was asked. The spiritual image of Gaara was still a few years younger than his own body. Spiritually his age was still young because he wanted someone to care.

Naruto knelt down and hugged the boy, saying, "What we're doing is going to be something similar to what confines my demon, only in this case, conditions will be added to _yours._"

"Why," Gaara asked.

"The pathways of your mind can heal," Naruto said with a soft smile. "Your heart can heal. I know that you still have family and they will come to care. Bonds of blood siblings can grow in strength. So first we make sure that your mind will heal by locking away the one that doesn't belong in there."

"How," the boy asked.

"We confine him to a cage," the blond explained with a shrug at the fox that growled back at him. "We have no choice in this Kurama. That one is different and has had way too much freedom."

"I agree," the fox said. "I can only hold him for so long, so do you think you could draw the main Seal now?"

"Of course," Naruto said. He took out a glass knife that he'd formed outside of his body and then he pierced his hand. He began to draw the circles and Fujin Sigals that defined the cage.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

Kakashi had no idea what was going on. He watched the boy's body and then saw something he'd never seen before.

Naruto's body planted a hand, palm to the ground and then lifted up a double bladed knife. It was made of glass and fully formed into a small looking blade, shaped like a very small Tanto. It was used to cut the boy's other palm and then the blood writings began to form around the body of the Sand ninja moving along before conditions were added.

Kakashi had never seen this happen before. He was sorely tempted to wake Naruto, but knew that in a case like this he had to trust him to know what he was doing. '_Obviously he's researched this,_' he thought. '_I only wonder how long he's been planning to help the red haired boy._'

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

"All right," Naruto said, looking at the cage. "Now comes the hard part."

"What is it," Gaara said.

"You have to put him in there," Naruto said to the boy. "You actually have to fight him and drag him into the cage. I will help you to shut the door, but you have to be the one to put him in there."

Gaara then developed such a look of determination and hardness that the racoon demon hesitated before launching his first attack. "I was spoiled," the red haired boy said and struck the demon with a knock down hit. "I was taught."

"So was I," the racoon said and tried to inflate his form into becoming larger, but couldn't. "What the hell?" He looked around and noted that his chakra was being suck into the formation of the cage. "Oh no you don't."

"Oh yes," Gaara said and he struck again this time nearly knocking himself out. '_At least I know how much I can take,_' he thought. '_But that sand bag doesn't know his own limits within my mind._'

Shukaku was hardly shocked at the anger because he'd been feeding it to the boy for a long time now, however this time it was redirected back at him. It was like he was getting angry at himself, which was ridiculous. He took another hit, only this time he retaliated and struck at the demon fox only to be bitten on the arm and shaken.

Kurama released the demon as soon as he heard the red haired boy yelp in shock because of the sudden pain. "Sorry kid," he said with a semi-contrite expression. "Forgot about that."

"That's fine," Gaara's eyes and hair deepened in colour. "I expected something like that. I welcome it, as a new awakening."

Something in the boy's spirit change at that moment. He grew and aged to be slightly older than his real physical form, but it was enough. He grinned evilly and then attacked the racoon in a fury of punches and kicks.

Shukaku didn't know what hit him. He fought back with claws and fang. He was merciless and didn't care that he was developing the same wounds as the ones he inflicted, until one particular move surprised him and he was very temporarily knocked out. He felt someone grab him by the scruff of his neck and tail.

He tried to scrabble out of the way, but it was too late now. He was summarily tossed like bad baggage. He flipped nose over tail, rolling towards the back of the cell and heard the loud clang as the door slammed shut behind him. He howled his protest, "NNNOOOOOOOOOO!I"

Naruto was quick with the conditions. They may have been basic, but the boy had his own mind now. The pathways were only opened to chakra accessed and control was placed in Gaara's surprised hands. "It's done," the blond said. "Now the trick is to hold onto that by placing somewhere that he won't and can't go."

"How," Gaara asked.

He saw the blond shake his head and knew that this was a choice he had to make on his own. He nodded at the man in his mind and disappeared from Naruto's sight for a few minutes. When he reappeared, there was a new confidence in the youth and it was time the fox and the blond to back away.

"Just remember one thing," Naruto told him with a grin. "You're now in control. Oh, I'll take care of the larger wounds once we're out of your mindscape, so don't worry, you'll be healed in time for the final battle."

"Thank you," Gaara said and then because he knew he'd never do it in real life, he ran up and hugged the taller man in his mindscape. "Thank you onii-san."

Naruto pet the dark red hair and then disappeared, following the concentrated chakra focus of his Jounin sensei. He came too and saw that the wounds on Gaara were healing slowly.

Kakashi had wanted to help, but knew not to interfere. The blood was seeping into the Seal that the blond boy had placed on the Sand ninja. He saw his student move forward, pulling at a scroll from the pouch he carried.

"You can stop now sensei," Naruto said. "We'll need to treat most of these before we can turn him over to the medical staff of the hospital."

"How are we going to explain the wounds," Kakashi asked.

"We sparred and you called on your dog summons to help," the blond said casually. "It's no one's fault, if they acted as their nature intended. I was bit too, see."

"I'll treat that," Kakashi said cleaning the area deftly and wrapping it up in a bandage quickly.

Naruto did the same and then he tapped Gaara on the forehead. Darker sea green eyes opened, blinked and then a wry grin formed. "Time to wake up," the blond said. "I'm sure that your brother and sister are about to rampage looking for you."

"You looked better in my mind," Gaara said. "Are you hiding your true hair colour?"

Naruto shook his head and smiled, "I'd forgotten that your spiritual self reflects your true appearance, if not your physical age." He chuckled and said, "Yes it's being hidden by a bound Henge."

"Why hide it," the red haired boy asked, as he slowly moved about to remove the kinks from his limbs.

"It's a gift from my summons," Naruto explained. "The scroll I created has a slight side-effect because it's still not closed, as a couple of foxes still need to be added. Once they are then the scroll will be, as finished as it can be."

"I don't quite understand," Gaara said. "But you don't need to hide it."

"Some days that's not what I hide," Naruto said, scratching a whiskered cheek to indicate what does get hidden.

"Understood," the red haired boy said. He finished getting dressed and then looked around the room. "Where's my gourd?"

"Sasuke took it to your brother and sister," Naruto said. "I couldn't have something around that Shukaku could control until he was locked away."

"I see," Gaara said. "We'd better go now or else your friend may forced to endure my brother's own version of torture."

"Oh, what would that be," Kakashi-sensei as he unlocked the door to the room and let in a wailing Gai-sensei. He patted the man on his head and said, "We're fine."

"But my joyous rival," Gai wailed. "You trusted me to guard the door, but they wouldn't stop singing that," the man shuddered and continued. "That…horrid song!"

"Song," Naruto asked looking out the door and hearing the chorus, '_67 Ninjas that battle and war…_'. He chuckled and then said, "Oh, that one."

"Kankuro," Gaara said in a chiding tone. "You didn't have to go that extreme."

"The green man wouldn't let us in and we only had his," he pointed to Sasuke, who waved at them. "Word that you'd be safe. We may have changed some things, but really. You never trusted anyone with this before, now take it back, it's agitated."

"Thank you for looking after it," Gaara told them. "Now let's go back to the hospital."

"What for," Temari asked, looking over at them suspiciously. She spotted the bandages and then exclaimed, "You're wounded!"

"It was just a minor spar," Kakashi-sensei told them. "I had my summons out keeping guard, but they wanted to play. It was an accident. Even Naruto was bitten."

"Well then let's get these youthful children to a place where the treatment of such enthusiastic accidents get treated," Gai-sensei said. "Follow me!"

"Just follow him," Kakashi said to the Sand ninja. "He's relatively harmless." He then turned to Naruto and said, "You too."

"Ah, you know I heal…"

"None of that," Risa said. "It doesn't matter. You still need to be checked in case an infection may have set in. You'll still need a tetnus shot anyway."

Naruto rubbed his butt and said, "I don't wanna…"

"Now, now," Kakashi-sensei said, taking a hold of blond boy's arm. He dragged him through the corridors saying, "You do know that anytime someone is bitten by any animal, even a summons they must get a shot to prevent infections from setting in."

"But I don't wanna," Naruto said dragging his feet slightly. It was a show for the medical staff and his protest was doing just what it was supposed to do. It presented a very young Chunin that still required a Jounin to monitor him.

"You guys are not helping," the blond said to his giggling teammates.

"Oh," Sasuke said. "Were we supposed to?"

"I don't think so," Risa said. "Not after '99 Ninjas…' being repeated for the third time."

"Three times," Naruto said in awe. "Really?"

"Just you wait," Sasuke said. "I'll find a tune more annoying than that one to bug you with."

"Bring it," Naruto said and then was pulled into a private room, from which his teammates only heard, "OUCH! Watch where you stick that thing! SADIST! NO WAY! Why the hell do I need more than one?"

The answer was muffled, but there was a second very loud yelp that indicated that another needle had just been given.

Sasuke looked at Risa, who looked back at him. Together they laughed.

Naruto - New, Yet So Old - Naruto - New, Yet So Old

END for now!

(…i…) See volume 11, pg.119

**Author's Note:** _Originally this story was to protest the unfinished works that I'd been fond of reading, but were never completed. Unfortunately, I was mistaken in my ability to take this tale any further at this point in time. At least the end is not that much of a cliff-hanger and you can all image a better ending._

_Until I re-read the Naruto saga stories and get hooked once more I fear that this is as far as I can take the tale._

_For those curious about the posted pairing, well I kind of like that pairing, but I did it so that I could find my story much more quickly._

_Thank you for the lovely reviews and for reading my incomplete attempt to get a story passed the Chunin Exam stage._

_Lil Nezumi_


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